A Girl called Anna
by jack-adam
Summary: The worst thing Yoh had ever done. Falling madly in love with the icequeen, Anna. Seduction lessons from Hao, Ren's girl advice, Horo Horo's 'secret' movies and a blossoming Anna equals to an extremely perplexed Yoh. YohAnna, hints of HaoAnna. COMPLETED
1. Peek

Yoh's deepest, darkest secret. In which he can't tell anybody, not even Anna. Yes, especially not Anna. They're all 18 in this story.

CHAPTER 1

The moon was in.

The food was ready.

And it was. . .

" Dinnertime!" Manta yelled out.

. . .Dinnertime.

Anna nodded to herself as she dropped the baton stick in her hands, ignoring Yoh who was still on the ground doing push-ups. " Finally it's dinner." Anna said approvingly, her hands behind her back, ready to leave the garden and enter the house. " I'm starving."

" An- - -na," Yoh whined, still struggling with his 1000th push-up. " What about me? I'm so hungry I could eat- - -"

" The grass found below you." she snapped, turning around. " You still have 80 more to go; after you finish those, then will you be allowed to eat dinner with the rest of us."

" Awww," he moaned, struggling to get up from the ground, when he caught a glimpse of Anna's black coloured underwear. He gaped, his eyes gazing up and down at Anna's thin, smooth legs. Involuntarily, his hands were reaching out to touch her when she turned around, and he gasped and went back to his push-ups. She raised her eyebrows at him before shrugging, walking into the house.

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" Wow, Yoh, you look like shit."

" Thanks, Horo. I love you too."

Ren frowned at him behind the bowl of rice before him, and dropped his chopsticks for a second. " Oi, Anna-san." he said, and Anna looked in his direction. " Don't you think that you're straining him a bit too much? After all, it's not good to eat right after you exercise. It's not too good for Yoh's body."

Anna blinked. Ren certainly was a good friend.

She smirked and nodded. " That's a good point." she said, grinning in Yoh's direction, who was barely able to lift up the copsticks in his hands. He looked up, noticing her grin, which was more like a leer. " I'm going to listen to Ren's advice for once."

Yoh's face brightened. " Less training than usual?" he asked.

" No." she said. " After exercise, you will have to do small chores before eating, such as massaging my back."

Almost everyone groaned, including Ren.

" Anna-san." Ren said, sweatdropping. " That's not exactly what I meant. . ."

" Mmm?" Anna said, acidly sweet, and even Ren did not dare to say anything after that.

He turned to Yoh, whose food before him was taken away by Anna.

" Gomen, Yoh." he said apologetically.

" No, it's alright." Yoh said, smiling weakly as he got to his feet to step behind Anna. " I don't mind."

Ryu, Manta and Horo looked at Yoh in surprise. Even Anna seemed mildly shocked, to say the least.

" What's wrong, Yoh?" Horo asked, mouth still hanging open.

" Nothing." he said, massaging Anna's back with as much force as possible. Little did anyone know, that Yoh was secretly crying with glee; as this was the first time that he was actually touching her. You see, for years now, he and Anna had been engaged, but nothing had actually happened between the two of them. No touching of hands, hugging, kissing, and. . .

He shuddered and shook himself.

" Ouch, Yoh. That hurts." Anna said, wincing.

Did she know how aroused she made him when she said that?

" Sorry." he muttered, his hands softly pressing against her soft skin, his fingers jerking slightly as they felt themselves across the thin layer of her bra strap. This was the first time he had felt any part of Anna, and it was an amazing experience. His fingers edged there once again, trying to peek at it through the white shirt she wore, and his eyes gleamed slightly as he saw through the thin material that it was black.

" Wow, you're pretty good." she muttered, moaning as he hit her at the right spot. He shuddered again, getting harder and harder by the second. " You could give Horo Horo a run for his money any day."

" Sorry about that." Horo muttered into his pork.

" Ne, Anna-san," Manta said. " Who has actually massaged your back before?"

Anna blinked. " Well. . .there's you, Horo Horo, Ryu, Ren. . ."

" REN?" Ryu and Horo gasped.

" Yes. And he wasn't half-bad." she said, smirking. " Tell them, Ren-kun."

Blushing, Ren nodded.

" Oh yes, and Hao." she finished.

" HAO?" Ryu, Horo, Ren, Manta and Yoh gasped.

" Yes. . ." she said, flinching as Yoh's grip increased. " He wanted to invite me to join his group of. . .somethings. He said he would do anything for me if I did, and I told him all I wanted was a good back rub."

They stared at her, slack-jawed.

" And did you. . .?" Manta asked.

" Don't be stupid." she snapped. " I told him he didn't do it well enough, and would not agree. He offered to do it once more, but I told him I had better things to do. Then he said that he loved me. . ."

" HE SAID HE LOVED YOU?" the others gasped, and Yoh's grip tightened, if possible, even more.

" Yes. . .Yoh, would you relax?. . .And I told him I had no interest in him, so he just smiled and left. Nothing to fuss about."

But it was. This was the true sign of Anna's power. She had almost all of the world's most powerful shamans in the palm of her hands. Plus, she had the world's most powerful man massage her back. Plus, she tricked him AND he loved her.

" You're incredible." Yoh said, fascinated.

" I know." she said, smirking, getting to her feet. " Well, I'm finished. Call me when the 8 o'clock show comes on, Yoh. I'm going to take a bath."

Again, thoughts swarmed the dirty mind of Yoh.

The other men, friends of him for years, knew exactly what he was thinking.

" I would call you a pervert if you two weren't engaged." Ryu muttered, though a grin was playing on his lips. Blushing furiously, Yoh turned to face him, face blushing like crazy. Horo grinned at him too, while Manta looked confused, Ren nonchalant. " What was the colour of her bra, after all?" Horo asked, grinning at him. " Maybe she didn't, but we saw everything."

He looked at the rest of them in awe, mouth widened in shock and embarrasment.

" You WERE obvious, Yoh." Ren said, shrugging,

The expression on his face was laughable, and the others but Ren burst into laughter. Finally, when they had subsuded, Yoh sighed and brought his rice to himself, chomping through it. " Well, what am I supposed to do?" he complained. " We're engaged, for God's sake! And we haven't even kissed before! I mean. . .what's that? It's like we're in a sitcom from the 70's!"

The others laughed, while Ren just smirked.

" But, I have to admit, Anna-san really is very pretty." Ryu said, nodding slowly, his magestic flop of Elvis hair flopping up and down like a plate of jelly.

" Just that she's scary as a demon." Manta said, shuddering. " Great example. . .the incident with Hao."

" That makes her attractive sometimes." Horo said, smirking at Yoh. " I bet she's a minx in bed."

" Horo!" Ren said warningly.

" It's true though." Yoh said, and Ren's mouth opened in shock. " I've been wanting her for so many years now, and she hasn't even showed an act of kindess to me expect for making me small uniforms and training me day and night."

Ren smiled warmly at him. " Oh, you'll be okay."

He stared at him in surprise, and looked at the others, who smiled at him.

" Well, we'd best be off." Horo said, getting up from his place.

" Yep." Ren said, looking away.

The four of them stood up, looking down at their shocked friend.

" Good luck." they said.

He smiled. " Yeah." he said. " Everything will be alright in the end."

" That's more like Yoh." Horo said.

" Hmph." Ren said, as they shut the door behind them. He smiled.

" Goodnight." he said.

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It was eight.

Yoh nodded to himself and picked up the small tombstone in his hands. " Goodnight to you, Amedamaru." he said.

" Goodnight, Yoh-domo." he said, before disappearing into the roof.

He smiled to himself as he walked towads Anna's room, ready to knock on her bathroom door when he noticed that the door was slightly open. He shook himself, shuddering once again at the thought of what Anna would do if she found out he was peeking at her showering. He made motion to walk away, when he remembered what he was there for. He knocked on the door, and it opened wider slightly.

" Yes?" came her voice.

" Er. . .It's eight." he called out.

" Alright." came her voice, and the sound of water stopping.

He couldn't help but let out a gasp as he saw her through the small crack in the door, her unblemished, milky white skinned body for him to see. His tongue involuntarily darted out to lick his lips as he watched her slowly reach over for her towel, wrapping it tightly around herself, but not soon enough for Yoh to not notice her well sculpted frame, moulded with beauty.

He knew he loved her.

He knew she didn't care less about him.

He knew he had to respect her privacy.

But DAMN did she have a nice body. His eye pressed even deeper into the hole now, wondering where she was at the moment. He blinked as he noticed she wasn't there anymore. He frowned and surveyed the place as much as he possibly could with so little space given, and it was when he was hoping for more vision space when the door creeked open.

A very angry, confused, and yet at the same time amused Anna was looking down at him.

" Good evening to you too, Yoh-kun." she said, crossing her arms across her chest.

END CHAPTER 1

What do you all think? I'm not so sure I should continue this. However, please read and review me if you thought it was good or want me to go on. Thank you very much! This was 


	2. A Brother's Advice

This is chapter 2 everyone! Thank you so much for the glorious reviews! Anyway, this story will hopefully get more and more interesting. Please continue to read and review this story!

CHAPTER 2

Hao whistled a happy tune to himself, a bag of treats in one hand, the other free hand running itself through his hair. He reached the door of Yoh's house soon enough, pushed the sliding door to one side and. . .

Came face-to-face with his brother tied to a pole which was wrapped around the ceiling fan, gagged by a toilet roll.

Hao just blinked, looking up at him for several seconds before setting down the treats he brought down to the table, scratching his head uncomfortably. " I see the two of you are really getting progress." he muttered, almost to himself, ad he looked up at his brother from the front steps. " Do you need any help getting down, Yoh?" he asked.

" No, he's fine up there." came Anna's sharp voice from behind him, and Hao jumped, turning back.

" Good evening, Anna." Hao said timidly.

" Mmph." she muttered, promptly taking the snacks he brought to entertain himself and walked into the television room, and shut the door behind her. Hao just watched her leave soundlessly, his eyes following from the area where his food was kept, to Yoh who was tied to the ceiling fan, to the room where Anna was inside. He just sighed and took off his shoes, levitating off the ground to help his gagged brother out.

" Thanks." Yoh said gratefully, spitting the toilet roll out, wiping his mouth.

" You're welcome." Hao said. " I'm just hoping she doesn't come out anytime soon, though."

" Nah, she won't." Yoh said reassuringly. " Her TV show's on until 10."

" So do I tie you up there later again?"

" That'll be good."

They just sat there for a moment, before exchanging glances and Hao chuckled. " Anna's the same as usual." he said, scratching his head. " I still can't beleive that you're the male of the group."

" Anyone can be henpecked around the likes of Anna." Yoh said feverishly, getting up to enter the kitchen.

Hao followed.

" It's been really stressful lately." Yoh muttered, handing Hao a peach. " I think her period just started."

" That can't be good." Hao said, shivering at the thought. He bit into the peach and pursed his lips. " Damn, this peach is sour."

" Want a different one?" Yoh offered.

" I'm alright." Hao answered, taking another bite. " Usually the sour ones are sweet in the core."

" Says who?" Yoh said witheringly, taking a peach himself and bit into it.

" Me." Hao said. " Or maybe it's just that the inside is less sour than the outside, so it seems sweeter."

They just watched the moon for a short moment.

" So why did she hang you on the ceiling fan?" Hao asked.

Yoh paused, sighing again. " I'd rather not tell you."

" Why?" Hao asked, suddenly interested. " Come on, spill it out."

" It's. . .rather embarrasing." Yoh said, finishing his peach and threw the core away.

" We all have embarrasing moment, Yoh." Hao said, taking another bite.

" I peeked on her bathing."

Hao choked on his peach.

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Anna looked inside the bag of treats that hao brought.

" Lolipops. . ." she muttered, tossing them aside. " Ramen noodles. . .banana yohgurt. . .biscuts. . ."

She paused as her hands laid upon a packet of contraceptives before sweatdropping and throwing it deep into the bag, face flushed. " Men." she muttered, digging in deeper, and settled for a bag of chips and a small can of beer.

It was then when she sneezed.

She wiped her nose and frowned at her door.

What was her fiance and brother talking about?

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" You. . .yoh WHAT?" Hao spluttered.

" I peeked on her bathing and she caught me." he said gloomily.

Hao had a mixture of expressions which Yoh would have laughed at if he wasn't so gloomy. " Oh my God. . ." Hao whispered. " You're lucky that she only hung you on the fan! If it was me or somebody else!"

" Death." Yoh said, sighing. " Horo tried it once."

" Horo Horo?" Hao's eyes sparkled with amusement. " And he didn't get caught?"

" He's good at his work." Yoh said.

Silence as Hao took another bite of his peach.

" So was her body good?" Hao asked, enjoying the sight of his brother blushing beet red.

But Hao just smiled.

" I know she's beautiful." he said. " But how's her figure?"

Yoh spluttered at his brother. Only Hao could make that not sound pervertic.

He hung his head.

" Yeah." he said. " She's gorgeous."

Hao smiled fondly at his brother, before frowning.

" But I find it strange." he said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. " You two are engaged, no?"

" Yeah, we are." Yoh said, nodding.

" Then isn't it allowed that you see her naked?" Hao said cheekily. " I mean, I see girls bare bodied, and WE aren't even engaged."

" But, you're different!" Yoh exclamied, flustered.

" In what ways?" Hao said testingly. " You're a man, aren't you?"

" Yeah. . ." Yoh said, cocking his brow.

" She's a lady, right?"

" Yeah. . ."

" So what's wrong with the picture?"

Yoh blushed and shivered. " She's scary." he said.

He grinned, amused. " I know that. But even so, you must have some control over her. Picture what's going to happen in bed."

Yoh had never blushed so hard in his life. But yet, in some strange, twisted way, he knew that his brother was caring for him.

" Here, look. . ." Hao said, scratching the back of his head. " I'll talk to her."

Yoh's eyes widened. " You would?"

Hao shrugged. " Sure. I'll tell you if I have any results. Now, before I go meet her, I have to tie you back up before. . .hey, what's wrong? Are you alright?"

It was ten o'clock.

He stopped dead in his sentence as he heard the sounds of knuckles cracking behind him, and as he turned he finally realized why Yoh was so fearful of this woman. " Asakura Yoh." was all that Yoh heard before the world's most painful slap whipped across his face.

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" Geez, you didn't have to hit him THAT hard."

" Hmph."

Hao sat comfortable on one of the cushions found inside Anna's room, watching her as she slammed the door shut, slapping her hands together in a matter-of-fact kind of way. He laughed and reached out for one of the crackers that he had bought and bit into it. " So the two of you still sleep in seperate rooms and beds eh?" Hao said, flipping the channels, looking at the television. " I thought that by now the two of you would. . ."

" Do you want to get hanged up on the tree as well?" Anna growled, pointing at Yoh, who was strapped on the tree, easily visible from Anna's bedroom window.

" No thank you." Hao said, popping the remains of the cracker into his mouth.

" So whta did you come here for?" Anna asked, sighing.

Hao smiled and leaned back in his cushion, the back of his head rested by his two hands.

" Just came to talk to my little brother." he said.

" A pervertic little shit he is too." she muttered.

Hao grinned and sat up right. " Well, he IS your fiance and future husband, isn't he?" he said, taking the opportunity straight away. " I guess in a way he HAS the right to see you naked, am I not wrong?"

Now it was her turn to blush.

' Damn Hao for being so smooth.' she muttered to herself. " Still. . ." she started. " He shouldn't have been such a voyuer."

" You'd rather him walk right up to you and undress you?" he said.

Damn.

Anna wanted to strangle Hao right now, but he was right, in whatever he said.

" But somewhere, deep down, you feel flattered, don't you?"

" I don't!" she snapped, turning crimson.

He smirked at her. " Are you sure?"

When she had no answer to that, he slowly got up to his feet, and tied his hair up in a bundle, just like Yoh usually did. Her eyes widened.

" What are you!" she started, but was cut short by Hao covering her mouth with his hand, the other hand on the first button of her shirt, his body sprawled upon her. He smirked down at her.

" What if it was Yoh doing this to you now?" he whispered.

His finegrs had already cleverly unbuttoned the first two buttons of her shirt, which had now seemed to trail down from her shirt to her upper thigh which was clearly seen through the thin, black dress she always wore.

She just seemed to blank out for a moment as Yoh appeared before her, expect without that calming smile; in its place was Hao's smirk. She smiled back, and he blinked.

" It's obvious, isn't it?" she whispered.

" Eh?" Hao asked.

But she said nothing more but lift her leg upwards, ramming him right in the crotch.

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Yoh sighed.

Hao sighed.

Ren sighed.

Horo sighed.

Ryu sighed.

The five of them were sitting in the nearby cafe the next day, untouched cups of coffee before them. Yoh turned to his brother, an apologetic look on his face. " I'm sorry," he said, rather sheepishly. " Onne-chan."

Hao just grinned. " It's alright." he said, yet his hand unknowingly went back to his aching groin. " But I really pity you, for the first time in my life."

The others looked up at him and Hao laughed.

" At first I envied you for taking away the one girl that I fell in love with." Hao started, taking a sip of his coffee. " But now I'm pretty glad that I didn't marry her. An almost infertile Hao is bad news to girls all round."

" Yeah, I know what you mean." Horo said, shivering.

The others stared at him and he blushed.

" About the Anna part, not the infertile part." he said.

Hao breathed a sigh of relief.

" She's really beautiful." Horo said, grinning at Yoh, who just turned another shade of red. " I would have gone after her long ago if it wasn't for the facts that she was Yoh's fiance and that. . .well. . .she was so. . ."

" Scary." Ryu finished for him.

" And that if she wasn't Yoh's fiance, I would be with her anyway." Hao said calmly.

" Says who?" Horo asked, cocking his brow.  
" Me." he said, grinning at Horo from the top of his coffee cup.

" Oh, stop being babies"  
Ren, who had stayed silent until then, said. " We're here to help Yoh on how to win her over, not on who would be suitable for her if Yoh was dead or non-existant."

They raised their eyebrows.

" Wow, you really cut to the core, Ren." Ryu said, nodding.

Ren smirked.

Hao crossed his legs, looking sulky for a moment before smiling once again. " Just go up to her, Yoh." he said.

Yoh blinked.

" What?"

" He's telling you to just go for it, Yoh-donno." Amidamaru said confidently.

Yoh sweatdropped. " What?"

" He means to just bring things to an end." Ryu said.

" Wha. . .?" Yoh asked, more confused than ever.

" Oh, they mean for you to just make love to her, Yoh." Ren snapped, annoyed by Yoh's denseness.

Hao spat out the drink in his mouth, spraying Horo all over.

" Sorry." he said.

But Horo wasn't even listening. He was googling at Ren. " How the Hell do you say that without getting red?" he asked.

Ren smirked. " I'm more grown up than any of you." he said.

" Not TOO grown up, in any case." Hao said, wiping the coffee from his mouth. " You said ' make love' and not 'sex.' "

Watching Ren blush, he smirked. " You're mature, but sure are not a man."

The others burst into laughter.

Hao turned to his brother. " She loves you." he said. " You know that."

Yoh looked pouty. " She sure doesn't show it."

Hao smiled. " Do people like Ren show to you acts of kindness?"

Ren stopped trying to ambush Hao from behind and paused.

" But yet you know he's your friend." Hao finished.

Silence.

Ren sighed. " You're really good with words, aren't you?"

" And am proud of it." Hao said, smirking.

He got up, picking up his bag. " I'm leaving now." he said softly. " Coffee's on me."

The others but Yoh and Ren cheered.

Hao winked at Yoh. " Try it tonight." he said.

" I'll drop by tomorrow to see how the progress is."

And he disappeared, the money for the coffee on the table.

Ren sighed again and sat down beside Yoh. " Your brother's cooler than you, that's for one."

Yoh nodded, before smiling, rather confidently.

" But what he said about Anna was true, right?"

Ren's eyes widened.

" Yoh!" he exclamied. " Don't tell me you're going to listen to him. . .?"

Yoh nodded and got up. " Yep." he said.

" Tonight's the night where Yoh turns from a boy into a man."

And with one last smile he walked off, disappearing behind the door of the shop.

The three stayed silent for a while.

" So who had a better exit?" Ryu asked, scratching his chin.

" Hao." the others said, almost instantly, before laughing and finishing their drinks.

" I just hope Anna doesn't kill Yoh when he tries to seduce her." Ren said, sweatdropping.

" Yeah." Horo said.

" Good luck to him, ne?"

Good luck indeed.

Because Yoh was going to need it.

END CHAPTER 2

Finally something's going to happen between Yoh and Anna! I've been wanting to put it into chapter 1, but decided I should just develop the storyline first, right? Okay. Here's chapter 2 everyone! Did you enjoy it? Hopefully it was funny, because the next chapter's going to be mostly about Yoh trying to. . .well. . .yeah. . .Anna. (Blinks, coughs at uncomfortable silence.) Please look foward to chapter 3 and KEEP READING AND REVIEWING! 


	3. Seduction

Here's chapter 3 everyone! Thank you for all the reviews! I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

CHAPTER 3

Anna looked at her watch.

" Six-thirty." she muttered to herself, and got up to her feet, switching off the television.

She peered outside her room, expecting to see Yoh in the kitchen, making dinner.

There was no Yoh.

Bad news for Anna, worse news for Yoh.

Her legs made her way to Yoh's room, in which she promptly slammed the sliding door to a side, raising her eyebrows at Yoh, whose back was facing her. Not for long though. She grabbed one of Yoh's dumbbells which were resting near the door, and was ready to throw it at him when he turned, anxious, shutting the book in his hands, removing the earphones from his ears.

" Anna!" he exclaimed. " Since when did you come in? I didn't hear you."

" Then how did you hear me lifting the dumbbells from near your door?" she asked, almost venomously, dropping the dumbbell on the ground with a loud thud.

" Amidamaru called me just in time." he said, grinning, pointing to a sheepish looking samurai behind him.

She continued to glare at him.

" Is. . .something bothering you?" he asked, inching backwards.

" It's six thirty." she said, prouncing every word clearly. " You're supposed to make dinner at six, and the food to be ready at this time exactly."

" I thought it was Manta's job." Yoh asked, placing the book on the table.

" He's sick today." she said. " It's surprising that I know that and you don't."

" He didn't tell me." he said, blinking.

Silence.

" What were you reading?" she asked suspiciously, her eyes eyeing the book on his table closely, but he whipped it out of sight and hid it behind his back. " Nothing!" he said quickly, sounding like a guilty schoolboy.

She just continued to stare at him for a full minute before she sighed and put her hands on her hips.

" Just go make dinner." she said.

" Oui, madam." he said, grinning as he brushed past her and ran off.

Anna blinked as she watched him go.

Weird.

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" You want me to what?"

Faust was looking puzzled as the three of Yoh's friends; Ren, Ryu and Horo gathered around him, serious expressions on their faces. " Although I have full confidence in Yoh on the battlefield," Ren said, frowning at Faust's bemused expression. " I doubt that he would be able to seduce anything from the likes of a toothpick to a sabretoothed tiger. So we need you on the sidelines just in case Yoh gets. . ."

" Disembodied?" Faust asked, a sick smile on his face.

The others shivered.

" What I can't beleive," Lyserg said, who was sitting in a corner the whole time, sipping his coffee quietly. " Is that Yoh took four years just to gather up the courage to try to bed Miss Anna."

Ryu grinned, shrugging. " Can you blame him? I'm surprised that it didn't take him five."

Lyserg, who had never had close contact with Anna, looked confused. " I don't think she's THAT unattractive." he said.

" She's not." Horo said. " Quite the opposite in fact. But she's scary."

Lyserg blinked. " Really?"

" Never mind that," Ren said, bringing them back to the original conversation. " We just need your medical assistance if anything goes wrong."

Faust glanced sideways at Eliza, who gave him a thumbs up. He smiled and nodded, and the others cheered.

" However," Faust said slowly, and the others snapped to attention. " There is no way that I can get inside the house without arousing the suspicion of Anna-san and Yoh-kun. I would get in trouble and. . .what's so funny?"

Horo was giggling continuously, and Faust stopped in mid-sentence, waiting for him to stop patiently.

" You. . ." Horo said, laughing. " You said. . .arouse!"

Time stops.

" Ano baka!" Ren yelled smashing his fist on the base of Horo's head.

After minutes of calming Ren down and stopping Horo from laughing, Faust was able to continue. He cleared his throat. " As I was saying," he said. " There's no way that I could. . ."

" We get it, we get it." Ryu said, nodding his head intelligently. He turned to Lyserg, who was sitting in a corner. " Is there anything that you can suggest to us, Lyserg?"

Lyserg paused, biting his lip. " I could probe a spycam on my oversoul and we could see things from the inside." he said, shrugging.

" That's a good idea!" Ryu said, grinning, making motion to give him a hug.

" Idiot." Ren said, crossing his arms. " Anna's too smart for that. She's a spirit medium, she could sense your oversoul as easy as snapping her fingers. Plus, don't you think Yoh would sense it too? He's a shaman, after all."

Lyserg nodded, and Ren sighed. " That's true." they said at the same time.

" I could cut out one of my eyeballs." Faust said knowedgebly. " Then, I could place it in. . ."

" NO." the others said at the same time.

Ren plopped down back in his seat and sighed. " We sure have weird ass conversations in this cafe." he muttered.

" You can say that again." Horo muttered.

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Yoh was watching her every move out of the corner of his eye, tossing food unconciously into his mouth.

He watched her pick up a piece of meat, place it into her mouth and chew it slowly, her eyes shut. He gulped as his eyes strayed downwards, to that extremely short skirt she always wore, which was now hitched up above her thighs due to her sitting position, and he gasped as her legs moved slightly, the creamy white skin of her upper thighs visibly seen.

" I went to meet your grandfather today, by the way." she said, clearly not noticing his lustful gaze on her, still muching her food nonchalantly.

" Mm?" he mutteerd, eyes still transfixed on her skin, and his eyes widened as for a fleeting second he thought he had seen her underwear line.

Then he blushed as he saw it in clear view.

Black.

" He said he wanted me to learn some new ritual." she said, almost to herself now; there was nothing in her words that was getting into his head. " But in my opinion it's completely hopeless." Food completely forgotten before him now, he watched her as if in an ecstasy-induced trance. His eyes drew from her thighs to the slope of her neck, to her collerbone, then to the undoubtably large amount of cleavage of her black dress, where his eyes stayed, and not for the first time he was glad of her loosely dressed fashion at home.

He gasped as she reached foward to pinch a piece of meat from the table, exposing her cleavage in the process, and he had to conform his drool at the sight of her pale, white skin.

" What's wrong, Yoh?" came her voice, and his eyes unwillingly drew away from her beautiful skin to her piercing gaze.

He blinked. " What?"

" You've been dazed out for the last few days," she said, looking at him seriously, and he noted painfully that there was still a trail of white sauce at adorning her full, red lips, almost looking like. . .

Never mind.

Things like this was best not said out loud, agreed?

" I'm fine." he said, trying not to look at her. God knows how much willpower it took for him to not just jump on her at that very moment. She nodded to herself, satisfied for the time being with his answer, and licked the white sauce off her face. He shuddered inwardly. " Alright Amidamaru, I'm going to try now." he muttered as silently as he could.

The samurai nodded and his spirit flew off. " Good luck, Yoh-donno."

He smiled weakly at him as he flew off. He took in a deep breath.

Alright. The point of no return.

" Anna." he said suddenly, and she looked up to face him.

" Yes?" she said.

" We're engaged, right?"

She raised her eyebrows. " If you want to get all technical. . .yes."

" We'll get married soon, right?"

Her eyebrows, if possible, raised even higher. " I guess you could say that. . .yes."

" You know that I care for you and like you, right?"

She blinked, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks.

" Yoh, I don't get where you're going with all this. . ."

" Please answer me, Anna."

She just looked at him for a moment before nodding. " Yes."

" And you don't exactly hate me, right?"

This seemed to stump her, but after a while, his determined face and a smirk earned from her, she nodded. " Yes."

He seemed to gain a certain amount of confidence from that.

" Can I make love to you?"

Her face reddened noticibly at that, and she got up from her seat, spilling sauce all over her front shirt. " What?" she gasped.

He got up. " What?" he asked. " We're engaged, aren't we?"

" Engaged," she said, biting her lip. " That's a different thing from married, isn't it?"

" Anna. . ." he moaned. " What's wrong with it, really?"

" Well. . ." she said, more embarrased than she ever was by now. " Nobody has ever actually seen me. . ."

She cut off at that, gasping as she felt Yoh get up, his lips covering hers. Her hand was raised in the air in mid-slap, but her eyes widened as she noticed his hand had caught her hand in time and pinned it behind her back.

She moaned, his lips kissing their way down her throat, pushing her way backwards until she was pressed against the wall.

" Yoh. . ." she moaned throatily, creating a whole new arousal inside him.

" Anna. . ." he muttered, his hands snaking up her skirt, touching her soft skin peacefully.

She whimpered as he pushed one of her collars down, biting into her soft skin. His fingers were unknowingly powerful over her as her legs felt weak, and she crumpled to the ground. He murmered in agreement as he sprawled over her, his fingers inside her dress, fingering her bra strap, struggling to snap it open. She whimpered as he licked her behind the earlobe, her hands cradleing him in her arms.

Suddenly she blinked, controlling her hormones for the first time in the last two minutes, Yoh not noticing at all; he was still busy trying to unhook her bra.

WHAT THE HELL WERE THEY DOING?

Anna seemed to contemplate that for a second, and it was when he had finally managed to unhook her bra when she managed to calculate out the figures for what she was going to do. Urges; a fine seventy-six per cent, and she had to give Yoh credit for that. But anger and embarrasment was at a strong one hundred per cent, and no amount of urges could overcome that.

Her ahnd grabbed his before he would touch her once more, the smirk on her face.

' OOOHHHHH SSSHHHIIITTTT' Yoh whispered to himself.

" You hentai." she whispered, her legs ramming up at the same time to his protective area.

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" You're pathetic."

The boys were inside Yoh's room, and he was being examied by Faust, much to his embarrasment. He pulled on his pants, wincing in pain as the rest of his friends and his brother looked at Faust in worry.

" It's okay." Faust said, smiling. " It's nothing major. However it's not minor either. It's worse than yours, Hao."

Ren, Ryu, Lyserg, Manta, Chocolove and Horo raised their eyebrows at Yoh's brother, who was looking sheepish. " I was worried that I would become infertile." he said, laughing it away. The others rolled their eyes.

" That's because Hao was wearing jeans." Yoh said painfully. " I was wearing shorts."

Hao's eyes widened. " Underwear?"

" Nope." Yoh said pitifully. " And she used two legs."

Hao let out a whistle. " I feel your pain. One leg was bad enough."

Chocolove pounced up, seizing the moment. " Ah?" he said. " A bag and a hag had a laugh?"

Silence.

" Still, she was a bit harsh, wasn't she?" Manta said, sweatdropping at the sight of Ren and Horo whacking Chocolove with everything they had. " I mean, whatever you did to her; no matter how sudden, you are her fiance after all."

The sliding door burst down to the ground and there stood Anna, a huge temple appearing at the side of her head.

" ANNA!" they all yelled in shock.

" What did you say, Manta?" she said, in a false sweet voice, but the broken door was the evidence of her anger.

" N---nothing, Anna-san." Manta said, trying his best to hide behind Lyserg.

" Lyserg?" she said, smiling venomously at him. " I know you're a nice person, so if you don't wish to die, stop hiding Manta."

It was then when Lyserg finally understood why everyone feared her.

" Y- - -Yes, ma'am." he stuttered, crawling away.

" Come, Manta." she said curtly. " You have a LOT of housework to do."

Almost crying, he walked off after her. Yoh bit his lip and stood up, surprising everyone, including Anna.

" Anna!" he called out, and she turned, surprised.

" What do you want? Hentai."

Her eyes involuntarily turned to Hao, who waved nervously.

" I'm sorry." Yoh said, and she turned to him again, eyes wide. He looked away. " I loved you so much, I just couldn't control myself."

Anna had to hide the smile which was creeping on her face, but lucky for her she was such a good actress. ' Damn, he's good at making you feel sorry for him.' she told herself, but maintained a stern look. " I'll forgive you this once." she said, kicking poor Manta down the stairs. " But if you try anything like that on me again, I'll personally kill you. And every single one of your friends inside this room."

Even Ren couldn't suppress a shiver.

She glared at Amidamaru, who was twiddling his thumbs, looking up at the ceiling innocently, but couldn't hide from her sharp eyes.

" And if possible, you too, Amidamaru."

Even Hao looked remotely abashed.

" B. . .But I'm already dead, Anna-san." Amidamaru said weakly.

Anna smirked. " It's possible to die twice, right?" she whispered softly and walked down the stairs.

When they made sure she was gone, everyone let out the breaths that they were holding.

" Now I know why all of you are so scared of her!" Lyserg exclaimed, wiping the cold sweat from his face.

" She indeed packs a punch." Ren muttered.

Yet Hao was smiling. He got to his feet and snapped his fingers. In a second's time his Oversoul was outside Yoh's house and stepped out of the window when he turned around and his gaze met Yoh's. Yoh smield back at him.

" You've got a plan, haven't you?" he asked.

Hao smirked.

" Indeed." he said. The room was tense while waiting for Hao to continue. " You don't have enough experience to get into bed with Anna at this rate, and to wait another two years until you're both married is too long a wait, isn't it?"

Yoh nodded.

Hao winked. " I'll teach you how to court a girl then."

Yoh's eyes widened, and the others gasped in shock.

" I'll stop by twice a week then." he said, stepping onto his Oversoul. " Of course, if your other friends want advice too, I wouldn't mind coaching them too."

" Really?" Horo called out, eyes gleaming.

Ren rolled his eyes. " Idiot." he muttered.

" See you three days from now." Hao said, winking as he soared off on his Oversoul.

They watched him leave.

" Looks like he's quite serious about it, ne? Yoh?" Lyserg said.

Yoh smiled. " Yeah." he said.

He just stared at the sky for a few more minutes before looking at his friends, smiling.

" Thank you," he muteterd to himself. " Onee-chan."

END CHAPTER 3

Ah, yes! The teaching of Hao to Yoh! Meanwhile, other things start to happen on Anna's side too! What could possibly happen? Please look foward to chapter 4 of the story! Keep reading and reviewing and I will update as soon as possible! 


	4. Walking in on a shower

Thank you all for the, once again, GLORIOUS REVIEWS! Plus, from now on, I decided to give review responses. Yes, me. I dunno why, there were just some questions in reviews that I HAD to answer, I guess. Alright, here's chapter 4 everyone! To thank you all for giving me all those reviews and for reading my story, this chapter will be extra long! Once again, thank you do much! Please continue to read and review! 

BTW: If this story is getting too 'heated up' or 'limish' for anyone's taste, please tell me before reporting it, okay? I'll try my best to tone it down if anyone has problems with it. I don't want a suspended account again. Okay? Thanks!

CHAPTER 4

" Oh. My. Holy. Shit." muttered Anna.

Okay, that's a bad way to start a new chapter. But let's rewind and go back in what happened in recent events, shall we?

It all started when Anna woke up. She yawned and rubbed her eyes, getting to her feet slowly. The room around her seemed to spin and rotate for many minutes before her eyes finally focused on the poster of BOB that Yoh had pasted inside, and she rolled her eyes. It was his strange, diluted way of giving her a birthday present, she thought, grumbling to herself. If he wanted to get her something for her birthday, might as well be a full subscription to television channels all over the state. Not that they could have afforded that, but it would have been nice.

" Good morning to you too." she muttered to BOB as she walked out, and shut the door behind her.

' If you keep staring at him, you're bound to like him sooner or later!' Yoh had said cheerfully, pinning the poster to her door, much to her dislike. ' And that includes his music as well!'

Soon after that she had rammed her foot into his leg for destroying her birthday, but somehow she just couldn't resist to take the poster off. He would always tiptoe into her room every now and then and see if she had ripped off the poster yet. When he knew that she hadn't, he would grin in a way that would have put the Grinch out of buisness, and cook food exceptionally well.

" Not that I'm doing it for his happiness." she grumbled out loud, opening the door to the bathroom, smeared the toothpaste onto her toothbrush and promptly stuffed it into her mouth. " But a good meal from him is acceptable from time to time. Or else I would have to resolve to eating garbage every night until Ryu comes back from his biking dream trips."

She rinsed and tossed the toothbrush into the cup that she and Yoh always placed the things for their teeth brushing needs, when she noticed that his was missing. She frowned and scratched her head. Either he was using the bottom showerroom or he finally used the last of his old one. But after deciding that it was no skin off her nose, she shook herself and went downstairs for breakfast.

She was really feeling tired these fews days, she realized as she rubbed her eyes. She hadn't even bothered to change out of her pyjamas, come to think of that. All she was hoping was to get some more shut eye after what would deam to be a quiet, relaxing morning meal.

" Ah! Anna! You're awake!" came Horo Horo's voice.

Okay. There goes the last ray of sunshine she had.

" What are you doing here?" she asked testingly, her hands on her hips.

" We wanted to come over and ask Yoh if he wanted to watch a movie or something. . ." Horo said, setting the table with pancakes. " But he said he was busy at the moment, so we guessed we'd just wait for him here."

Anna raised her eyebrows. " We?" she asked.

" Of course." Horo said, pointing to the other two people at the table Anna had not noticed. " Manta and Ren wanted to go see it too."

She blinked at the squirmish Manta, who waved nervously, and Ren who just nodded at her. She nodded back and walked over and sat herself down. Ren was one of the few of Yoh's friends that she actually acknowledged. He was not three times shorter than the ordinary height, they did not pose as Elvis wannabes, and. . .

" You want pancakes or waffles?" Horo asked cheerfully.

. . .Were nothing like the likes of Horo Horo.

" Waffles will do fine." she said curtly. " Where did you get all the ingredients?"

" I brought them from home." Horo said proudly. " I figured that you wouldn't like us coming into your house so early in the morning, so I wanted to pamper you with great food from my home!"

" There's nothing great about it." Ren muttered, trying to use his spear to cut the rock hard pancake in half.

Horo glared at him. " If you're so good at cooking, why don't YOU try?"

" I would," Ren said, pouting. " But you insisted on bringing the food. I would have let Anna-san try the chinese dishes that my sister makes every morning. Ne? Bason."

" Yep, Bok-chamma." Bason said, levitating several heads above the rest.

Anna sighed as Horo threw a pancake at Ren, which cracked in two. The pancake, mind you, not Ren's face. " I'm going to check on what Yoh's doing." she muttered, getting up from her seat. Then she turned and glared at the two fighting boys, Manta in the middle trying to stop them. They stopped at the sight of her frosty stare.

" Where did you say he was?" Anna asked, on her way up the stairs.

" He's cleaning the spa room." Horo said, grinning mischeviously.

" He is?" Manta asked. " I thought he was. . .ITAI!"

Manta rubbed his painful ass, turning to look at Horo. It was at that split second where Anna asked Ren, when Horo gave Manta the quickest wink in history. And at that Manta understood. Ren seemed to too, so he just sighed.

" I don't know." he said. " Whatever Horo said."

Anna glared suspiciously at the three of them before making her way to the showers.

Ren sighed again and glared at Horo. " I don't know what you're planning, Horo." he said. " But if it gets me into trouble, I tell you, I'm slicing your stupid hair right off your head."

Horo grinned. " Okay. But it's all for Yoh's sake, in a way."

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Yoh turned on the tap and moaned to himself, letting the water rush down his body. " THIS, is what I called a shower." he muttered, grinning to himself. There was the sound of footsteps in the near distance but he didn't pay much attention to it. He just sighed and shut his eyes, enjoying the feel of hot water on him while he still could. Which was sort of why he didn't even bat an eye as he heard the door of the showerroom flick open.

Which was a bad idea, as always.

Anna stood there, door open, facing a bare naked Yoh, his eyes shut as water flooded his body. Her eyes widened, her body making an impulse to move, but she just froze there.

And that brings us to where this chapter first started.

" Oh. My. Holy. Shit." Anna muttered, and things got worse as her eyes turned their attention to his chest, then to his hips, then to his. . .

" Shit, no." she whipered to herself, and Yoh opened his eyes and his eyes widened.

" Anna!" he yelled, pulling a towel to himself. " What the Hell. . .?"

" I'm so sorry!" she gasped, slamming the door shut behind her, her back against the door, clutching her chest, begging her heartbeat to return to normal. And just when she beat Yoh up for spying on her showering. She should be strung up on a tree as well. She took in deep breaths, thinking about the situation. Then her eyes opened, and her usual glare came upon her face.

" Horo Horo. . ." she growled.

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" Ohio!" came Lyserg's cheerful voice at the front door, and he raised his eyebrows at the sight that adorned his eyes. Manta was trying to chizel the frozen hard pancakes in his hand apart, Yoh was blushing like the setting sun, not looking at anyone in particular, Ren was gelling his pointed end of his hair in tact and Horo had bruises all over his faces.

Lyserg settled for a tired smile. " You guys never change, do you?" he said, and they looked up, but Yoh was the only one who greeted him.

" Ohio, Lyserg."

" Ohio." he said. " I brought some breakfast for you guys, because I heard from Pirika-san that Horo was coming over, so I got worried. Where's Anna-san? I brought her favourite."

Yoh sighed. " She locked herself in her room ever since she walked in on me showering, and hasn't been seen since."

" It's almost like it was Yoh's fault." Ren said calmly, removing the last of the gel from his head and wiped his hands with a towel calmly. " But it was Horo's stupid plan to make Anna have lust for Yoh. . .did you bring any chinese dishes?"

" Yep." Lyserg said, tossing him a bag. " There are some dim sims inside, and some wanton noodles if you want."

" Thanks." Ren said gratefully, and opened the packet of wantons. " Hey, they're still fresh."

" That's always good to know." Manta said grumpily, tossing the pancake which was more frozen than it started off with behind him, landing in the dustbin with a loud crack. Lyserg just smiled. " Nice shot. Here, I got you some meatbuns, I hope you like it."

Horo looked up at him. Actually, Lyserg was not exactly sure if Horo was LOOKING at him, or whether he had just tilted his head upwards with his eyes shut, due to all the huge bruises on his body. " You got anything for me?" he asked.

" Yeah." he said. " I got you some chicken. I hope you like poultry."

Horo stopped in mid-stance of gnawing on the piece of meat when he looked up at Lyserg and frowned. " What did you say?" he asked.

" Never mind." Lyserg said, sitting down.

" Still," Yoh said, sighing. " That was the first time I ever saw Anna so. . ."

" Angry?" Horo pitched in.

" Not really." Yoh said. " More like. . ."

" Bedazzled?" Ren asked with raised eyebrows.

" No!" Yoh said. " More like. . ."

" Amused?" Manta asked.

" Embarrased." Yoh said. " And I don't want to say this, but she looked prettier. . .or more attractive. . .when she looked vulnerable."

He sweatdropped as he received four sly grins.

" You're finally growing hormones, Yoh-san." Lyserg said, smiling.

Yoh blushed beet red, while Horo rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

" You have a burning desire for her, eh?" he asked, deep in thought.

Yoh's mouth opened and shut, before hanging his head. " Yes." he said softly.

" And you don't know where to put the extra heat, don't you?"

Yoh looked confused at that moment. " Anna gives me training from the morning to night." he said, trying in vain to understand where Horo Horo was getting at. Ren, Horo, Lyserg and Manta promptly groaned at this precise moment, and he looked up at them quickly, question marks almost coming out of his eyes. " What?" he asked desperately. " Is that a metaphor or something?"

" And I thought I was blur." Manta said, giggling.

Lyserg smiled.

" What's going on?" Yoh asked again.

" Okay, I'll just get straight to the point." Horo said. " I was thinking. . ."

" No wonder I thought I smelt wood burning." Ren muttered.

" Shut up!" Horo yelled at him before turning back to Yoh. " Anyway, I was thinking. . ." his eyes flashed warningly to Ren, who smirked at him, his arms folded. " I didn't say anything." he said smugly.

Horo glared at him for a few more seconds before grinning at Yoh. " Anyway, I was thinking if you would want to borrow some of my ' documentarial' videos? It keeps me away from plunging at girls who are hot, anyway."

The others blushed, while Yoh remained confused.

" Documentarial?" he asked. " Like. . .As in the National Geographic? Because Anna already subscribes to that, and all I have to do is ask her whether- - -"

" Not THAT," Horo groaned, while the others beat him up in their minds. Horo scratched his head and glanced at Ren. Ren nodded and poked Yoh in the shoulder to look at him. Blushing slightly, Ren bit his lip, and did some vigorous movements with his hands. Yoh just watched him with a bemused expression, and clapped when Ren was done.

" I'm not putting up a show, you idiot!" Ren snapped. " Now, watch closely."

He did it once more, yet Yoh still didn't get it.

" ARG!" Horo yelled. " I mean PORN, GODDAMNIT!"

" Hey!" Lyserg said, offended. " Don't use the Lord's name. . ."

" . . .In vain." Horo said, looking sheepish. " I'm sorry."

" Are you crazy, Horo Horo?" Yoh hissed, clamping his hand on Horo's mouth, just as Anna walked down the stairs. Her eyes were staring straight ahead, not even glancing at Yoh or the rest.

" Er. . .Anna. . .where are you going?" he asked.

" Out." she said simply, and slammed the door behind her.

Ren winced. Then he glared at Horo. " See what you did?" he snapped.

" Mhat?" came Horo's muffled reply behind Yoh's hand. He slapped it away and coughed. " What?" he said again.

" You destroyed their relationship!" Ren said, smacking his hand on the table. " You could have done the one thing that everyone likes you as, but you don't do at all! Shutting the Hell up!"

" It's better than not trying to help at all, right?" Horo yelled back.

" Okay, quit it." Yoh said, smiling and they stared at him.

They sighed and smiled.

" There will be no wars if the world was filled with people like you." Horo said.

" Yes," Ren said, grinning. " But then again, nobody would be able to reach the top shelf."

The two of them, not understanding the small insult, grinned.

" Thanks." Yoh said.

Silence.

" So how about it?" Horo asked.

" I don't know, Horo Horo." Yoh said. Then he giggled. " Hey, that rhymes!"

" Yoh. . ." Horo said tensely. " Why won't you borrow it?"

" Maybe he's not a hentai." Lyserg said softly, almost to himself, but Horo heard every word. He grabbed Lyserg's shirt.

" Repeat that, I dare you." he muttered.

" Didn't say nothing." Lyserg said, giggling nervously.

" Quit it, Horo." Yoh said. " And are you SO sure that it'll work?"

Horo let go of a releived Lyserg. " Of course." he said. " In fact, let me show you something even better. Okay, the rest of you guys, come over here. . .I don't want any girls to suddenly pop in and see."

The others gathered around Horo as he dug into his bag, Ren being the last one, trying his best to look uninterested. " Alright." Horo said, glad of all the attention brought onto himself and the thing in his hands. " I want you all to name your dream girl. . .the girl that you never even thought would want to be with you."

They raised their eyebrows.

" Is this some sort of experiment?" Manta asked questioningly.

" Just answer my question." Horo snapped. " Shortstop, you can go first."

" Er. . ." Manta said, scratching his head. " Tamao I guess."

" Excellent.." Horo said. " Lyserg?"

He remained silent.

" Hold on. . ." Horo said, raising his eyebrows. " It's. . .a man, isn't it?"

" No!" Lyserg said angrily, while the rest laughed. " It's. . .okay, fine, it's thegirlbythenameofJeannewhoinmyopinionisthemostbeautifulgirlintheworld."

Strangely, being friends with him for years, they actually got that.

" Alright, buddy!" Horo said, slapping him on the back. " You and Jeanne!"

" Yeah." he said, blushing.

" Okay, what about you, Ren?"

Ren looked away, blushing. " I don't think I need to tell you that." he muttered.

" Aw, come on," Horo said. " Don't be such a spoilsport."

" Fine." Ren snapped. " It's. . .COUGHpirikaCOUGH."

" What?" Horo asked cheerfully. " Didn't hear you there."

" Never mind that." Lyserg said hurriedly, who inwardly shuddered at the reaction of what Horo would do if Ren told him that he had a crush on his sister. Especially before he was about to show the rest of them something pornographic anway.. " Who's yours, Horo Horo?"

" Nobody, actually." Horo muttered, looking embarrased. " And Yoh, yours is Anna, right?"

They knew he was steering away from the question. But somehow, all of them didn't push into it; knowing that that girl was way too secret and deep a secret to be let out. They guessed they would let their friend keep his secret for the moment. For now, anyway.

" Yep." Yoh said.

" Now get on with it." Ren said impatiently, unable to conceal his excitement.

" Okay." he said, grinning. " There's this really cool subscription magazine that I found not too long ago. . .just give a photo, or more than that for better results, of the girl you like and choose an image you want. Like swimsuit, lingerie. . .and so on and so forth. Then, in less than a week after you mail your check, they would copy and paste the picture of your dream girl onto the picture which you wish for them to be."

Yoh's eyes widened.  
" Wow, technology is fantastic these days."

" THAT'S NOT THE POINT!  
" Manta yelled, turning to Horo, beet red. " Isn't this a crime?"

" Not at all." Horo said, blinking. " They get money, you get something to wank to, everyone benefits."

Ren shuddered, thanking God that Horo didn't know that he was in love with his sister.

" How much is one, actually?" he blurted out.

Then he immediately regretted that after the huge grins from his friends.

" Ren. . ." Lyserg said, smirking.

" It's twenty dollars for a picture." Horo said, smirking. " But knowing you, you'll pay much more for that, won't you?"

Meanwhile, Yoh was blushing like crazy.

A picture of Anna. . .wearing nothing at all. . .God, that would be heaven. That would be. . .

" . . .Yoh being a pervert." came an amused voice from the door.

They looked up, and their eyes widened to see Hao grinning at them. " Sorry if I read your mind, Yoh." he said. " It's the thing that I'm most proud of. Apart from being so damn attractive, that is."

" What are you doing here?" Yoh asked, while the others rolled their eyes.

" Well, actually I didn't come for no reason, I left some of my things in your house the last time I came here, so I wanted to pick them up."

Yoh blinked. " What did you leave behind?"

" Nothing much," Hao said, making his way to Anna's room. " I think I left my favourite chain in Anna's room by mistake. . .I'm not sure."

Ren rolled his eyes.

" Right." he said. " All the way here just for some stupid chain?"

Yoh blushed slightly. " Actually. . .I'm pretty glad that he did. Because I got it for his birthday."

And the others decided it was best to shut up after that.

Ren mentally slapped himself.

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" Ah, there it is."

Hao smiled to himself as he picked the small chain found on top of Anna's cabinet and slipped it on his wrist, admiring it fondly. " Yoh DID choose the right one after all." he muttered, looking at it in the small light found in a corner of her room. After a few minutes of chain fondling, he decided it was about time that he left for home when he noticed Anna standing at the door, glaring at him.

" I came to pick up something." he said meekly.

She just sighed and walked past him. " I had a feeling you would come back to get it someday." she said, settling herself down on a chain found near her bed, picking up a book to read. " I just didn't think you would arrive so soon."

" What book is that?" Hao asked, interested.

" Nothing you would fancy." she snapped. " Shouldn't you be making your way out by now?"

" Tsk." Hao said, shaking his head in mock sadness. " Cold."

" Whatever." she said. " Just leave me be."

He watched her in amusement for a moment before putting his hands in his hips. " Now, now, Anna." he said. " I know that you're not taking in a single word from that book because of my presence."

She glared up at him, hating it when he was right.

Which he was, most of the time.

" Why don't you just say what you want, and get the Hell out of here?"

" What's wrong?" he asked. " Are you PMSing?"

She wanted to throw the book at him, but didn't want to damage borrowed property. Which was meant about the book, not Hao's face. " No." she said, rubbing her sore temples. " Just. . .something unexpected happened today."

Taken aback by her fowardness, he cocked his eyes in interest.

" Care to tell?" he asked.

" You'll laugh." she said, biting her lip.

" Of course I will." he said. " But it wouldn't hurt for me to give you some sound advice, wouldn't I?"

" With sounds of amusement?" she asked sarcastically.

" I'll give the advice after I calm down, once that happens." he said.

" Forget it." she snapped, opening her book once again.

" Come on, Anna." he said, his smirk widening. " You know that once I want something I always get it. Plus, you're not going to be able to concentrate on that book as long as I'm here."

Bang. He got two facts in a row.

" Consider today an expection." she said.

" Oh no, it's not going to be." he said. " Come on, it's about Yoh, isn't it?"

She froze, and he chuckled. " I didn't even have to read your mind to find that out." he said. " Not that I could if I wanted to; your head has the only mind I was not able to see through."

She glared at him before sulking. She wanted to finish the book almost desperately, and there was no way she could read it in peace with that mothballed maggot before her. " Alright." she said haughtily. " I. . .I walked in on Yoh when he was having a shower."

Strangely, he did not laugh. But that small smirk on his face twitched, and soon it turned into a full fledged smile. She had only seen that look on his face once, and that was followed by a death hug with Yoh at last year's Christmas party. He raised a delicate finger to his chin, then followed by another, and he rubbed his chin thoughtfully, grinning at her.

" Oh, quit it." she snapped. " Now get out."

" You don't want to talk about it?" he asked hopefully.

" No." she said, as calmly as she could, as she poured herself a cup of water and lifted it to her lips. " I would like it if you left me alone and go home, thank you very much. The door's right there."

" Come on, Anna." he said, a smile tugging his lips. " Was his body good?"

She promptly spat out the water in her mouth.

" What?" she snapped, wiping her mouth.

" Did he have a six-pack? How well were his muscles? How huge was his. . ."

" I can do the evaluation myself, THANK YOU." she said quickly, cutting him short in mid-sentence.

" Come on, tell me." Hao said, cornering her. " I want to know how girls find my younger brother."

" I guess. . .he was. . .pretty well build. . ." she said, blushing to the skin. Then she pulled herself together. " Anyway, what the Hell's your point?"

" The point I'm trying to say is," Hao said. " That since you saw him naked, you owe him something."

She raised her eyebrows, slamming her book on the table.

" He saw me naked once too." she hissed. " So we're even."

" Oh really?" Hao said, knowing that he had won the argument. " Did he hang you on a tree?"

Damn. He won her again.

" I think I proved my point." he said, clicking his fingers, and his Oversoul appeared before her window. " I'll come back to visit someday."

" I can't wait." she said sarcastically.

He smirked before jumping out of the window, and disappeared.

Meanwhile, Anna bit her bottom lip, deep in thought.

Then she sighed. " I guess you're right, Hao." she said. " As always."

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" Alright, goodnight."

" See you later, Yoh." Lyserg said, smiling at him before walking off into the darkness. Manta waved goodbye to Yoh as he hopped into his car and was driven off by his driver. Ren nodded a solemn goodbye before stuffing his hands in his pockets, making his way down the road. Horo winked at him as the others left. " So?" he asked Yoh. " Do you still want it?"

Yoh blinked. " You already gave the submission forms to us in the afternoon." he said.

" I mean, the ' documentary' tapes. You want them?"

Yoh blushed. " Oh, Horo. . .I don't know. . ."

Horo winked at him. " Ah, I don't care what you think. I'll bring five first, and if you think it helps I could bring more. If you don't, hey, I can always just take them back, right?"

Yoh looked worried, before smiling, rather halfheartedly. " Alright." he said. " If you're sure it'll work."

Horo smiled at him before jumping on his skateboard, and rode off into the moonlight.

" Anna will skin me alive if she found those tapes, Horo Horo"  
he said softly, his hands in his pockets.

He just stood there for a moment before sighing and walked inside the house, looking at the food that he had already set on the table. He sighed and stuffed his hands in his pockets. He looked up at the stairs, expecting Anna to come down. " I already called her for dinner twice." he muttered. " Is she really THAT mad at me? Not that I can think of anything that I did wrong this time. . ."

It was after a coin toss with himself then he decided it would be best to just go upstairs, apologize in any way he had offended her, she would slap him, he would just accept it and smile at her, she would mutter " Dumbass", scold him for a full ten minutes, increase his training, and everything would be back to normal. That was the way it was everything they had fights, anyway. Actually, they weren't called fights. . .just Anna getting huffy at Yoh, with him ending up to apologize to her. But most of the time he could relate to her of her anger, but this time was just. . .

" Bizarre." he muttered out loud, reaching the door of her room.

He knocked on the door timidly. " Anna?" he called. " It's dinnertime."

No answer.

" I'm coming in." he said, louder this time, and waited for a full five seconds before sliding the door open.

And there he found her, lying on her bedside table, asleep.

He smiled warmly as he walked over to her and shook her gently.

She moaned and stirred, rubbing her eyes tiredly.

" It's dinnertime." he said.

" Oh. . ." she started, before catching eye contact with him and looked the other way immediately, blushing furiously.

Yoh, taking this as a sign of anger, sighed.

" Look, Anna. . ." he said. " I'm sorry."

Surprised by this, she turned around to face him.

" About what?' she asked incredilously.

" Er. . ." he said. " For. . .angering you?"

Her eyes widened, mouth opening to say something. . .

And then she started to laugh.

He just blinked, looking at her in shock. Anna, the Ice Queen Itako was laughing? It was like seeing Santa Clause in Summer. " What's so funny?" he asked. But she continued, and a small smile adorned his lips. She was so beautiful when she smiled, and he almost thought it was impossible for her to get even prettier. Well, he was wrong about that. It was when she laughed.

She stopped soon enough, wiping the tears from her eyes. " You're such an idiot, do you know that?" she said, through final giggles.

" Yes. . ." he said sheepishly. " Actually I do. So. . .You're not mad?"

She reached out and stroked his cheek gingerly, smiling.

" Not this time." she said, not noticing his cheeks redden.

Then she withdrawing her hand quickly. " You're. . .not mad at me, are you?"

He almost laughed there at the sight of her sudden uncertainty. " Why would I be angry with you?"

" Well. . ." she started, biting her lip. " For walking on you when you were in the shower."

He just grinned. " No, it's alright." he said. " I was just a little shocked then, but it's okay."

" No. . ." she said. " Actually it's not."

He blinked. " What do you mean?"

" Well," she said. " I saw you naked, and you. . ."

" I saw you too." he said jokingly, not noticing her reddening cheeks.

" Yes," she said. " But that was when I punished you soon after."

" Oh." he said.

" What I'm trying to say is. . ." she started slowly, and he just smiled at her.

" Do you want to see me naked again?"

END CHAPTER 4

Whoa, that's a strange turn of events, eh? Chapter 5 will be up and ready pronto. Thanks for all your fantastic reviews; I will start reviewer responses from this chapter onwards. Sorry to those in chapters one and two, I'll just go from chapter 3 onwards. Cool?

ReAdEr ReSpOnSeS

_Exploded Toilet Bowl- - -Yep._

Peacemaker- - - -Why, thank you.

_FionnaKreuz- - -Hey, just tell me when you feel uncomfortable with it, and I'll do my best to correct it. Thanks for the tip, anyway. :)_

_Kirsten- - - -I will. Lolz. Goodbye to you too._

_Anna - - - -Yep, they will. Arg I'm so confused! Brother, not sister eh? I'll keep that in mind._

_Inu n Shaman Fan- - -Thank you._

_shadowfia- - -Yep, you read my mind. Faust and Anna rock. No, I'm not planning for much fighting in this story. If that's okay with you. :)_

_Tochigo- - -Yeah. (Winces) being kicked in the crotch MUST hurt._

_Kasumi Nishikao- - -Lolz. Thanks for the compliment. Hey, sending reviews is not spamming. . .if getting tons of reviews is spamming, hey I'll love it by now._

_hannah-asakura- - -Yeah, I'm bad at japanese. . .thanks for the tip. Lolz. Hey, Hao wouldn't be too bad as a girl actually._

_mysterious- - -Er. . .(Cough) Well. . .Just. . .Don't ask your mother that. Ask a friend or something. I can't answer you here because. . .well, this is a PG-13 story you know. Haha._

_rumia- - -Yeah. But can you blame him?_

_Kay- - -She would have killed ANYONE. Doh, I wonder how Horo does it. . ._

_hannami08- - -Yep._

_tone- - -Hahaha. . .hey, I created a new drug! Relax, chapter 5 will be up and ready as soon as I finish._

_azimataiji- - -Hao's great with women, in case you didn't get it by then. Lolz. Sometimes it's hard to imagine that Yoh and Hao are actually brothers._

_BabyKaoru-Sama- - -Hey, that's not a bad idea. . .(Thinks thoughtfully)_

_pendulumxswing- - -Thanks. For the tip and compliment._

_Lushi- - -I always wanted to cosplay someone. But I know I'll look weird. (Shudders)_

_uncertainty- - -You can bet your life on that._

_BlackIcyRoses- - -See above. Lolz._

_Orphen27- - -Haha, thank you._


	5. Kiss

Alright everyone, here it is, chapter 5! Don't forget to drop me a review after you finish reading! PS: Sorry to confuse some of you, but Anna was the one who said that. 

CHAPTER 5

Yoh blinked.

There was a moment of silence that befell the two of them as he watched her with that usually dim expression on his face, except with the sudden adding of raised eyebrows. Then he suddenly snapped out of his trance, face reddening, eyes widening. " W. . .What?" he asked, spluttering out the simple word that seemed to tear through the entire conversation.

" What?" she snapped impatiently, unable to hold the red shade that appeared on her face. " I saw you, shouldn't you have every right to see me back?"

" That might be the point. . ." he started off, coughing uncomfortably. " But wouldn't you feel embarrased?"

" Why should I be?" she asked, shrugging. " I'm your fiance."

" You certainly were angry when I peeked on you." he said, then regret saying it soon after, by the murderous look on her face. Daggers seemed to come out of her eyes before her lips pursed and pouted.

" You were being a pervert." she said.

" So you wouldn't mind if I asked you up front?"

" Not that much, I wouldn't."

" Then why did you deny me that day at dinner?"

Her mouth opened to say something, before she shut it. " That's different." she said sulkily.

" In what way?" he pressed on.

" Look, do you want to see me naked or what?" she snapped.

" I always did." he said back, but blushed harder at the sight of her raised eyebrows. " But the point is, is that if you would do this, you might as well tell me why you did not give into me that night."

" I was not ready for that, alright?" she began hotly.

" And you're ready for this?" he inquired.

" The point is that I feel guilty for popping into you in the shower." she said, aware that for once she was on the losing end of the argument, and Yoh was simply on a roll today. " And if you don't want to complete the transection and let it be, I'm totally fine with it."

" Transection?" he asked, blinking.

" Oh, gnaw on a bone." she snapped. She was blushing from her head to her toe, and she had to admit that she had never felt this embarrased before. She thought that he would just agree, and they would get the whole thing over with. But he was persistant to find answers with stupid question, and all she wanted to do was to ram a hammer down his throat and kick him out of her room and hide herself under her blankets.

But things were already until this stage, and there was no turning back.

" Look, let's just get this over and done with, alright?" she said briskly, getting up.

" Anna. . ." he whispered, gulping as he noticed her pull her bandana off her head, her hair bouncing down to her shoulders.

She looked at him, nodding for him to continue.

" You're beautiful." he whispered, and she bit her lip to hold back her smile.

" I'm not going to sleep with you just because you said that," she said, a grin creeping on her lips as he noticed him shift uneasily as she unbuttoned the first button on her robe. She was at the second button when suddenly there was a knock on the door, and the both of them inwardly groaned.

" Come in." Anna muttered, buttoning up her shirt once more.

Manta appeared at the door , a bag of groceries in his hands, grinning up at them cheerfully, clearly not knowing what he had barged into. " Sorry." Manta said, holding up the bag above his shoulders. " But Anna told me that she wanted some groceries for tomorrow's dinner, and I decided I would just give it to you tonight instead of tomorrow, like Anna requested."

Yoh couldn't beleive it.

This was the first time he had wanted to kick Manta out of his house.

Manta blinked. " Did I come at a bad time?" he asked worriedly.

_' Yes.'_ Yoh almost said to him.

" No," Anna said blantly. " No you didn't. Come on in."

She turned around and left the room, and shut the door behind her without even looking at the both of them.

They just stayed there in silence.

" I came at a bad time, didn't I?" Manta said.

" Yeah you did." Yoh said, sighing.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Anna shut herself in her room, biting her lip, trying her best to stop her heart from beating out of the regular, which at the moment was a very hard thing to do. What the Hell was she thinking by forcing him to see her naked? That was so unlike her that it was not funny. Not that it would have been funny if it was like her either. She gripped the beads across her chest tightly, shutting her eyes.

The image of Yoh's horrified face when she told him of her solution to their problem flashed into her mind, and her eyes opened slowly. She sighed and walked over to her bed, and fell onto it. The way he was staring at her. . .

It was almost like he was unwilling.

Was she THAT unattractive?

She almost slapped herself for thinking of that. No she wasn't. She was beautiful enough for Yoh to want to peek at her in the shower wasn't she? She sat up right, rubbing her temples tiredly. " Damn, I'm tired." she muttered, and she snapped to rapt attention at the sound of the knocking on her door. It was then when she knew straight away that it was Yoh. She always knew when it was him who knocked on her door or called her. . .sometimes she could tell when he was thinking of her. Sexually or not. Sometimes she would get goosebumps all of a sudden, and she suspected that. . .

But that was a different story.

" Come in." she said, straining her voice to stay calm.

Yoh appeared at the door, a plate of takoyaki in his hands.

She raised her eyebrows at it for a second before looking at him curiously.

He laughed.

" Manta brought them over to apologize." he said, walking over to her. " He just left."

She stabbed one with a toothpick and popped it into her mouth. " Apologize?" she asked, licking her lips to wipe off the takoyaki sauce from them. " What for?"

Yoh shrugged. " He thought that he ran into us doing something important."

" Oh?" she said, smirking slightly at him. " And was he right?"

He blushed, but smiled at her all the same. " Whatever I do with you is important to me, Anna." he said.

Now it was her turn to blush.

But she hid it much better than Yoh did, though. She turned her attention back to the takoyaki, and gave another stab to a piece near the far end of the plate and bit into it, munching on it between her teeth.

They stayed in their usual form of silence for the next few minutes before Anna spoke up.

" Yoh." she said.

" Mm?" he muttered, still looking up at the sky.

" Why are you physically attracted to me?"

He choked on a piece of octopus at that moment, and it landed right beside where Anna was sitting. She looked it for a solid minute before turning her attention back to him, her face wrinkled with disgust. " Charming." she said curtly.

" Sorry about that." he muttered. " You just shocked me, that's all."

She bit her lip. Again that shred of hesitation came again.

" Are you even attracted to me at all?" she blurted out.

He spun around, blushing furiously. " I am, Anna!" he said, and she blinked. " Your body is perfect, from head to toe!"

Then at the sight of her raised eyebrows, he just realized how stupid and pervertic he sounded. " Er. . ." he spluttered. " I'm not saying that I watch you when you don't know or something. . ."

She suddenly looked even more weary.

" I don't!" he said, aware of her scorching stare. " But. . .I'm just saying that. . .if I had to ever be with a body, I would be with yours."

Her eyebrows raised, if possible, even higher.

" Not just your body of course!" he said, inwardly cursing himself again. " I meant. . .with. . .you too."

" Okay." she muttered, getting up. " How very. . .flattering."

He swung an imaginary baseball bat at himself.

She walked to the door when he stared at her from behind for a moment, before speaking up. " Where are you going?" he asked her.

" For a walk." she said simply.

He nodded mutely, watching her leave, and blinked in surprise as she stopped slowly.

She turned, and Yoh swore he saw a slight blush appear on her cheeks.

" Do you. . ." she said, biting her bottom lip. " Want to follow me?"

He looked shocked for a moment before his face split into a huge grin, getting up. " Sure." he said.

She shook herself before making her way down the stairs.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Kino raised her eyebrows as she looked inside her drawer, surprising herself when she found that the thing she was looking for was not where she last placed it. Yohmei walked up to her, a grin on his face. " Well, if I have to believe everything I see," he muttereed amusingly. " It seems that for once you seemed to have misplaced something."

" Don't be stupid." Kino said irritatibly. " That's impossible."

" That's what they said about the earth not being flat." Yohmei said, smirking.

She pursed her lips before sighing. " I told you to not touch my things."

" Wouldn't have done it even if you asked me to."

" Then where is that damn thing?" she muttered angrily, slamming the drawer shut, growling at a nearby flower vase, which which seemed to wither away at her menanching look. Yohmei let out a whistle as he tagged along behind her as she entered Anna's room.

" So what were you looking for?" he asked.

" The spare candles that I always kept in the fifth drawer from the photo of Inoue the Itako are missing." she cursed.

" So what are we doing in Anna's room?" Yohmei asked.

" I kept several of them in Anna's sock drawer." she said simply.

" And why in all things Holy did you pick Anna's SOCK drawer to keep those in?" he asked.

" She never touched that drawer anyway." Kino said, almost to herself as she opened up the drawer, and blinked.

" There's none here either." she said.

" That's funny." he frowned. " It's bad enough that you're wrong once, but twice. . .?"

" I'm NOT wrong." she spat. " Anna must have moved it."

His lips twitched. " Oh?" he said. " Took up space didn't they?"

She glared at her husband for a moment before turning her attention back to rummaging through the amazingly huge number of socks that Anna had. Yohmei just smiled to himself, admiring his wife once again from afar. There were many times where he just stood in a corner and watched her at work, admired by the will of a blind woman to be able to see without seeing at the same time. She knew where things were kept in the house any better than anybody around, who had perfect visions of both eyes, thank you very much.

She spun around, and he could almost feel her frown from behind her sunglasses.

" Yohmei. . .check this out." she said.

He walked over to her and peered over her shoulder. He started to look around her sock drawer when Kino whacked him on the head impatiently. " THIS is what you need to be looking at." she said, pointing to four thin feathers above Anna's kimono drawer. It was almost invisible, glimmering dimly in the light, and was only caught by Yohmei's eye when he looked at that spot closely.

" Very smart." he said, obviously impressed.

" It was this heart-tracker that I had created so I could check up on Anna's corespondense."

" Right. . ." he said.

" And whenever her heart has removed another mental boulder from within, one of them would disappear."

" Nice." Yohmei said, rubbing his chin. " You thought of this yourself?"

" Not really." Kino said, looking sheepish. " Matamune told me about a book last time, and I got the idea from there. ' Beauty and the Beast was its name."

" Matamune eh?" Kino said, smiling fondly. " I remember him."

They stayed in silence for a moment before Kino cleared her throat.

" Anyway," she said curtly. " It started off with seven."

" Right." Yohmei said.

" One was lost not too long after the appearance of Yoh." she said clearly, counting it off with her fingers. " Another was lost after she met with Yoh once again. That's only two. Now one more is missing."

Yohmei smiled. " It seems like Yoh-kun is making progress."

Kino allowed a small grin to grace her face.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

" It's cold."

" Yes. . .so it is."

They strolled along the lake that connected the town with the next, and stopped as they reached the small bridge that would soon bring them into the district of a town that they had never entered before. They stopped before it, and leaned against the right railing of the bridge and looked down at the water that lapped the shore below. Yoh stuffed his hands in his pockets, shivering slightly with the cold, hoping that this small action could go unnoticed.

But Anna never missed anything.

Especially if the person doing it was Yoh.

He just watched the moon in silence for a short moment, unaware of Anna's sudden disappearence, and was only brought back to earth by the warm feel of something gainst his cheek. He jumped slightly and turned to the direction of the action, and looked at Anna in surprise as he noticed her smiling softly, a can of drink in her hands. " Here." she said.

He took it from her. " Thanks." he said.

She nodded and leaned against the railing once more.

He smiled and opened it, and drank it.

" From what I recall, what I gave you was decafe."

She raised her eyebrows at looked at him. " What?" she asked.

" Deja vu. . ." he said. " Don't you feel it?"

" No." she said simply.

He nodded and looked back up at the skies. " You agreed to go out for a walk with me. . ." he said softly. " It was the day just before the Shaman King competition. You agreed even though it was freezing cold outside."

She remained silent for a while.

" Just like you're doing now?" she asked.

" Just like I'm doing now." he said, grinning cheekily at her.

She managed a smile back.

He blushed at the sight, watching her intently as his eyes caught her side-profile, her beautiful face illuminating with the moonlight. He finished drinking the coffee and placed it on the railing beside him. He looked at Anna thoughtfully for a while before his fingers threaded trough her hair. She turned to him quizzingly, a look of confusion on her face.

" Yoh?" she asked, and Yoh was thanking the Lord she had not hit him yet.

" Shh," he whispered, his fingers threading through enough to cup her cheek. " Just stay still for a moment. I want to do something."

" What. . .?" she asked, somewhat nervously now.

" I'm going to kiss you." he whispered, closing in on her.

She could have slapped him.

She could have kicked him in the groin.

She could have punched him.

She could have grabbed the coffee can which was just nearby and thrown it at him. . .all of the above seemed rather appealing. . .yet she did the one thing that would have shocked the world.

She shut her eyes.

His lips pressed onto hers, his right hand still cupping her cheek, the other gently placing itself on her waist. Her hands wrapped around his neck, almost eager to deepen the kiss. She knew she would regret this somehow, but at the moment she was not thinking right.

Not thinking straight.

Just accepting his kiss, taking in his love. . .

Enjoying their bodies gently entwined in the moonlight.

END CHAPTER 5

What did you think? Hao's seduction lessons will be coming up right up and pronto, so keep reading and reviewing! P.S. I'm thinking of moving the rating up, just in case. Tell me if I should!

**ReAdEr ReSpOnSeS**

_xxmoonlight-angelxx- - -Thanks._

_superskittles123- - -Hehe. Clueless? Really?_

_HaNaGuMi- - -How many chapters. . .I'm not sure really. Not too long, that's for sure. Unless you all want more, that is._

_utterbliss- - -grins Why, arigato._

_merissala- - -Hahaha, that's an insult in a compliment. Gross? Really? Is that bad?_

_pendulumxswing- - -I'm glad you knew it was her, some thought Yoh said it._

_Orphen27- - -Lolz, yeah, I always thought he was naughty. But likeable, all the same._

_hannami08- - -Yep, whatever you said. Lolz._

_Anna- - -Gee thanks! I will!_

_ANNA KYOUYAMA A- - -My history? When? Thanks for the review anyway._

_dark-midnight-sky- - -You can bet on that._

_Exploded toilet bowl- - -Lolz. LOVE your nickname by the way. Haha._

_Jojo-Kyoyama- - -Grins We don't know about that, do we?_

_hannah-asakura- - -Whoops, sorry about the confusion. Anna said it, not Yoh. I don't think Yoh wanted to die that fast. Lolz._

_rumia- - -Thank you. :)_

_catesy- - -I try. It's tiring, though._

_Peacemaker- - -Yeah, sorry about that, once again._

_azimataiji- - -Lolz. That was a line from Anna to Hao, right?_

_racer- - -Lolz. My guess is as good as yours._

_tone- - -I'm trying._

_BlackIcyRoses- - -Thank you._

_Lushi- - -Crap. I'm not too hot at japanese. My apologies._

_Anna - - -Yes. Smirks_

_blackyuki- - -And here it is._

_Kasumi Nishikao- - -Lolz, yeah, in this way. But I'm never giving you my e-mail, ever. Hahaha. . . ._


	6. In da club

Thanks for the reviews! I will be moving this to 'M' from chapter 7 onwards just in case, so everyone please look out for it! 

CHAPTER 6

" YOU BOTH WHAT?"

Yoh was smiling. It was one of those times in which a smile bore many different faces, as he looked at all sides of his friends in the coffeehouse, all the way from Lyserg to Ryu to Ren to Horo to Hao. Even Hao's face had a small look of amazement on it. But Yoh's grin was smug, embarrased, accomplished, weary. . .but generally rather damn happy about the attention and the accomplishment that he had made.

" We kissed, that's right." he said, blushing slightly as he tried to drink from the cup held in his hand.

" So how was it?" Horo asked eagerly. " Was it wet?"

" Ice was practically skidding across the lake." Yoh said dryly. " If the kiss was wet, our lips would have been tinged with ice."

The others laughed.

" Were her lips soft, Yoh?" Hao asked, smiling softly at his brother.

Yoh blushed once again before smiling. " Yeah." she said. " Really soft."

The others let out whistles.

" Way to go, Yoh!" Horo said, smirking, patting Yoh on the back. " I'm surprised at two things; why she actually accepted the kiss and kissed you back, and secondly why you didn't get slapped by her in the first place."

" Being in the right moment." Ren said, sipping his coffee calmly.

" And how do YOU know all the fancy stuff?" Ryu asked curiously.

" Mind your own buisness." Ren muttered, suddenly taking a strong interest in the floor tiling.

" Anyway," Hao said, getting up, a huge grin on his face. " We'd best be off."

Yoh blinked. " Where?"

" To a club." he said matter-of-factly. " If you want to get better at girls, you have to see a professional pick one up."

" Thank you." Ren smirked.

Hao raised his eyebrows at Ren. " What do YOU know about picking up girls?"

" Back when you were still fondling your teddy bear." he said.

The others gasped.

" That was uncalled for, Ren." Horo said.

" You're mean." Ryu said.

" But I'm amused," Hao said, his lips twitching. " At how good you really are. Why don't you come along with us? After all, I'm sure you're interested to see my little brother's first courtship lesson."

Yoh blushed to the roots of his hair. " Quit calling it that." he muttered.  
" Hey Hao, can I come too?" Horo asked eagerly. " I haven't had a girl-friend in a long time and I was hoping to get some of your advice."

" Sure." Hao said, his twitching lips widening into a full, broad grin. " The more the merrier."

" Says who?" came an icy voice, and the five of them jumped in shock.

" A- - -ANNA!" Yoh yelled, jumping behind the chair he was sitting and hid behind Hao. It was an impassive performance, and it was taking all of his friend's wits to keep themselves from laughing out loud.

" Where are you going tonight?" she asked silkily. " You promised to bring me out to dinner."

Huge sweatdrops appeared behind Yoh's head. " Something came up, Anna. . ." he said meekly. " I'll bring you out tomorrow."

She just glared at him for a moment before her attention turned to Hao, who smiled rather nervously at her. This lasted for the next ten minutes or so, and the others were doing bets on how long it would last, when Lyserg suddenly spoke up. " If you want, I can make dinner for you." he said, giving her his most gentle smile ever. She raised her eyebrows, turning in his direction.

" Huh?" Ryu gasped. " If Lyserg's going, I'm coming too!"

THIS won Anna over. Even though she was looking foward to a night with Yoh, having a great feast by the one-and-only Ryu wasn't a total loss. She seemed to look satisfied, Yoh thought hopefully in his head. " Alright then." she said, rather sulkily. " But don't be back too late. I'm suspicious of anything that has Hao inside it." Hao seemed to gulp at this, but she ignored it, and walked out of the coffeeshop.

They all breathed sighs of relief.

" So what exactly happened after the two of you kissed?" Ryu asked Yoh with a bemused expression. " She acts like nothing happened at all."

Yoh sighed. " Well. . ." he said. " After we kissed my hormones won me over. . ."

" Oh crap." Horo muttered, while the others groaned.

" Then she kicked me in the groin again, and she told me if she wanted me to be forgiven I would have to do something worth her while. . .and I chose to treat her to his huge, fancy, high-class diner. She agreed, and we were supposed to go today."

Ren whistled. " Boy, you really suck with the ladies."

" Yep." Lyserg agreed silently.

Hao looked at the clock.

It was eight thirty.

" Great." he said. " Let's get it started."

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It was ten at night when they reached the club, and Hao wrapped an arm around Yoh's neck, grinning at him. " What do you think, Yoh?" he asked, a smirk plastered on his face, which had not been wiped off since that afternoon. " This is where you can get all the practice you need. A nightclub."

" But I don't need a girlfriend." Yoh said aimlessly. " All I want is Anna."

" This is the first step, kiddo." Hao said, ignoring Ren who was rolling his eyes. " In order to get up and seduce Anna, you have to get the flow. The escence, the right stuff. This is where you have to build up your confidence, and always remember one thing. ' Girls are crazy over you'. Even though you're hairy and balding, which you're not really, of course. . ." he said quickily at Yoh, who was touching his head fearfully. " You just have to have the positive attitude, and girls would seem like they're crawling on the ground begging you for sex."

" I like that." Yoh said, grinning at the thought.

" Imagining Anna in a lingerie?" Horo asked cheekily.

" Actually a nurse outfit, but I wouldn't mind that." he answered.

" Alright." Hao said, folding up his sleeves. " I'll show you how it's done."

" Wait a minute." Ren said, suddenly paying attention to their conversation. " If we're going to show him examples of being smooth, I think I should be the one showing it to him for the first try."

" Oh yeah?" Hao said. " Why?"

" Because I started young." Ren said.

" How young?" Hao asked.

" Back when you were still. . ." Ren started.

" . . .Fondling your teddy bear." Horo finished for him. " Come on Ren, it's getting old. Why don't the both of you show him how it's done?"

Ren smirked. " Fine with me." he said. " Who do you want to target?"

Hao looked around the bar and pointed at a girl who was sitting down at the bar. Ren raised his eyebrows and turned around to face Yoh. " Watch and learn, my friend." he said, making his way over to her. He leaned in on her, and bent down lower so that they were just noses away from each other. She clearly was experienced; she just glared at him coldly. " What do you want, kid?"

" My friend wanted some advice on girls, so I wanted to come over and. . ." he started.

" . . .Wanted to show him a beautiful girl?" she finished for him wirily.

" Actually I was going for ugly skank." he said, grinning broadly, enjoying the sight of her raise her eyebrows to the maximum, she smile off her face disappearing in mere seconds. " He's not so attractive himself, so I was hoping for some slut like you going over and give him a kiss."

" How dare you!" she yelled, outraged, forgetting all dignity at once.

" Why?" he said smugly. " What are you going to do? Throw your pantyhose at me?"

She got up huffily, ready to walk away when he gripped her hand. She spun around, glaring at him angrily but stopped when he smiled at her. " I was just kidding." he said. Then he leaned in closer to her. " I just wanted your number."

She blinked, and looked down and noticed that in his hands were a pen and a sheet of paper. He winked at her. " If you may." he said.

There was a moment of silence when she bit her lip in defeat and took the pen from him, and carefully started to write.

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" A club?"

Tamao, Tao Jun and Pirika smiled at her. " Yeah, Anna. You should just blow off some steam once in a while." Pirika said, folding her arms on her hips. " I know a perfect one. . .I heard that Hao went there a lot."

" So?" Anna said, bored, and continued to eat the food that Lyserg and Ryu had prepared, who both were now resting in the living room.

" That means that a lot of hot guys would be there too!" Tao Jun said, winking at her.

Anna sighed. " I'm engaged, if case you haven't noticed."

" Then just go there for fun!" Pirika said. " Flirting around with guys. . .getting their numbers and just ditching them off! Get free food and drinks from them just by showing them your slender legs or look down your top!"

Anna raised her eyebrows.

" I have new respect for your brother." she said.

" Come on Anna. . ." Pirika whined. " It's going to be fun. Plus, you could just give them your number, and purposely let Yoh get it. Imagine how cute he would look and act when he's jealous! Didn't you ever wonder how he would be like if suddenly guys started calling you, requesting for you to go out with them?"

Anna would have been disgusted, but somehow she seemed amused by the idea.

" Anna-san?" Tamao asked nervously.

Anna smirked, getting up from where she was.

" That sounds interesting." she said, followed by hearty cheers from the three other girls.

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" Not half bad, Ren." Hao said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. " She not only wrote down her handphone number to you, she also added her fax, house, office and pager number. Plus, she added in her e-mail number and particulars."

The others laughed.

" Man, it looks like a resume." Horo said, grinning.

" But you're amazing, Ren." Yoh said, nodding his head. " But I don't understand why you insulted her."

Ren smirked at him. " That's my secret to facing women." he said, drawing a chair. They were sitting at the bar at the moment, but they were crowded around Ren, who was in the middle, soaking up all the attention. " You see, Yoh." he started, sipping the drink in his hands for dramatic effect, and even Hao had to admit he did it really well. " The less attracted you seem towards them, the more attracted to you they become. It's basic knowledge anyway. If you go up to her exclaiming how ravishing beautiful and hot she looks, she'll just see you as another one of the losers that beg her for days just to get to kiss her palm. That would give her no thrill in ditching or even ending up in bed with you."

The others let out whistles.

" I didn't know you were that good at this sort of thing, Ren." Horo said, his face suddenly dawning with absolute admiration. And Ren took in every ounce of it. He smirked in his largest one yet, and there was yet once again that moment that he surged up in the atmosphere, and it seemed that that was the perfect " Tao ren" moment, and his mouth was already wide open when Hao smiled and got to his feet.

" If you have to use that sort of cheap tactics to get women, Ren, you're nowhere near me in sharmanic abilities and courting women both." Hao said, dustring his coat calmly with an air of distinct arrogance.

" Oh?" Ren said, trying desperately to sound calm, but the peak of his hair was edging slowly and slowly to the top of the ceiling. " In that case, would you mind telling me how you would do it? Mind you, I only took fifteen seconds."

" Chicken wings." Hao said. " Choose a girl, Yoh."

" Me?" Yoh asked nervously. " I don't know. . ."

" Anna's not here, if case you know." Horo said cheekily.

" I know THAT," Yoh said hotly, while the others laughed. " But I just don't feel comfortable choosing girls that I find alluring while Anna's in my head most of the time. Or all of the time, to say that."

" Alright then." Ren said, starting to get irritated about Yoh's almost inhumanly low hormones. " Get that girl over there. Glasses, crossed legs, tight lips, a book in her hands, four guys already around her that are good-looking and a glass of iced water before her. . .on a coaster. Good luck to YOU, Hao."

Hao rubbed his chin thoughtfully. " You really thought deep into that didn't you?"

Yoh and Horo raised their eyebrows.

" What's wrong with a coaster and iced water?" Horo asked.

" Are glasses bad?" Yoh asked.

Hao and Ren looked at them like they were retarded for a moment before sighing. " A coaster glass is one sure sign that she's not having a good enough time here. When you're at a club you order a beer, whisky, a small wine at least. Iced water is keeping things on a professional basis, showing that she wants to stay sombre at all times. Also proving she has no plans on getting drunk." Ren said.

" Glasses go with that same rule." Hao said patiently as looks of understanding dawned on the two of their faces. " Girls wear contacts when they go clubbing. Glasses are a no-way inside a nightclub like this."

Yoh nodded. " Oh. . .I get it." Yoh said.

" So." Hao said, winking at Yoh. " Watch me at work. This will only take me five seconds.Yoh, count to five. Pause when I pass my handphone or a pad and pencil at her. When she gives it back, continue counting."

The peak of Ren's hair shot up higher than ever before.

" That son of a. . ." he started, but stopped halfway at the sound of Yoh's counting.

" One. . ."

Hao brushed past the four men and said something to her.

" Two. . ."

She laughed.

" Three. . ."

He tossed his handphone at her.

" Four. . ."

Yoh paused.

She passed it back.

" Five. . ."

Hao walked over, smirking as four men started at him from the back, three staring from the front. In the screen of his handphone, there was a number. Even Ren was speechless, his mouth opening to say something but shut it again quickly.

" Well?" Hao asked. " What do you think?"

And by their dumbstruck faces, it was easy to understand what was going through their heads.

Wow.

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" Are you ready, Anna?" Jun asked Anna with a dreamy air. The four girls had just entered the club, and within seconds everyone's eyes were on them. Men had taken their picks to hit on them when they reached the bar or dance floor, while some ladies just stopped whatever they were doing at stared. A blue haired girl with a halter top and mini skirt, a pink haired girl who was well endowed but whose shirt was so tight that if she bent over it would have ripped in half, a green haired girl who was just wearing a tight cheongsam but was attractive all the same, and a brown haired girl with a skirt so short men could practically see up it without even peering at her from below the stairs.

" I don't see why YOU had to tag along too." Anna said, crossing her arms across her chest. " What if Pai Long found out that you were here frenching other guys? God knows how many men he would kill."

Tao Jun flushed in spite of herself. " Look, just get in there and have fun alright?" she said. " I'm curious to see what a good little kid like Yoh would do; or at least how pissed he would be to see his future wife kissing some other guy in a nightclub alright?"

Anna would have blushed if she didn't catch the last word.

" How would he know if I was here?" she snapped.

" Because I caught Ren talking to Bason about beating Hao in his own game and in his own turf. . .so I figured that he would be here. And since Ren is here, Yoh and the rest should be here too." She glanced at Pirika. " And that includes your brother too."

Pirika smiled. " That's good." she said.

Tamao bit her lip but said nothing.

" Well, I wonder if you ever came to a place like this before, Anna?" Jun asked Anna heartily. Anna just shook her head silently and raised her eyebrows at the two ladies kissing each other on a bar table. " Then you clearly wouldn't know what to do when men start to hit on you from all sides of the bar. Knowing a hot lady that you are, no doubt something's going to happen to you today."

" G. . .Guys hit on Anna-sama all the time." Tamao began timidly.

" That 's different, Tamao-san." Pirika said. " I can't beleive that you came here with me twice and still seem so inexperienced. Keep your chin up, Tamao, and try to hook up with some gusy at the end of the day."

" And YOU planning to get any?" Tao Jun asked her while Tamao blushed all colours of the rainbow.

" If there are any hot looking guys, yes." Pirika said.

Anna rolled her eyes. " In any case, I'm just going to find Yoh."

And the other girls followed in her footsteps.

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" Okay Yoh, you go." Hao and Ren said.

Yoh gulped and sighed, sitting himself down on a chair. " I feel weird doing this by myself. . ." he said. " Horo Horo, can you do this with me? At least if I get rejected I wouldn't get rejected alone."

" Okay." Horo said brightly before raising his eyebrows. " So are you saying that I'LL get rejected?"

" Yeah he is." Ren said, smirking.

" YOU!" Horo roared, pointing at Ren.

" Alright, quit it." Hao said. " Why don't the both of you go? "

" Yeah." Ren said, dropping his fourth mug of milk. " Because I'm getting bored."

The three of them glared at him for a moment before Yoh smiled. " Okay." he said.

" Choose that girl over there." Hao said. " She looks easy enough. Horo, there's another one over there who seems like she wants a man desperately. They're alright looking. Just try to practice on them. Don't break their hearts though." He added in a warning tone as Horo's face split into a grin, followed by Yoh and Horo slumping off in seperate directions.

" You want to give him someone easy?" Ren asked. " Wouldn't it be better to give him someone incredibly hard so she would ditch him so he would know how being rejected feels like? If the girl's easy and she likes him, what the Hell do we do when he gives her his number? Knowing the stupidity in him that's what he'll do! And you know what? Anna wouldn't be jumping with joy either!"

Then he stopped at Hao's smirk.

" Oh you wouldn't." he growled.

" I thought it would be better to make Anna jealous." Hao said, smirking. " Wouldn't it be better to make Anna pounce on Yoh instead?"

" That's stupid and juvenille." Ren snapped. " I'm going to get more milk."

" Okay." Hao said. " There's an ice-cream van outside."

" Oh shut up." Ren said, walking off.

Hao smiled and looked at the back of Yoh talking to the girl. " I guess she likes him." Hao said, nodding to himself as Yoh smiled sheepishly as she laughed. He crossed his legs and was about to turn around to check out Horo's progress when his eyes widened at what he saw/

Or who he saw.

She was beautiful. Ravishing, more like it. But it was more of her character he was afraid of.

" Hello, Hao." Anna said, in a mock sweet tone.

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A glass cracked.

" Ah! Lyserg! Are you okay?" Ryu asked.

" I'm okay, Ryu-san." Lyserg said. He raised his eyebrows at the midnight sky. " I think something's about to happen. . .Ryu-san."

" Mm." Ryu said. " Me too."

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" Anna!" Hao said in a mock cheerful voice, standing up abruptly to prevent Anna from seeing Yoh for obvious reasons. Her arms were crossed across her chest, her lips pursed as she glared at him with a distinct coolness.

" Where is he, Hao?" Anna asked.

" What are you talking about, Anna?" Hao asked, smiling. " And what are YOU doing here in a nightclub by yourself? I didn't think you were the kind of person who sneaked out of house from your fiance to hit nightclubs."

" Don't try to be cute." she snapped. " I was dragged here with Tamao, Tao Jun and Pirika. They just went off to hit on boys by theirselves. Now where is he? I'm not going to ask you again."

" That's what they always say, and they ask again." Hao said jokingly, but the smile faded from his face as her glare got fiercer. " You look really beautiful tonight, Anna." he said. " Is it just me, or did your dress get tighter?"

She raised a hand to slap him but his hand launched out and grabbed it, and pinned it behind her back. Within seconds they were noses apart, a smirk on his face. " God, I forgot how beautiful you were." he whispered.

" Let go of me." she hissed.

Inside his head, he was storming for ideas. He was hoping to advert her attention towards him at first, but now that he had her FULL attention, he had no idea what to do next. The only ray of hope he had left was to piss her off and anger her until she stormed off, giving Yoh a chance to walk away. Or run, most hopefully. His tongue darted out to lick his lips, and was surprised to see Anna blush slightly at that, biting her lip coyly. " Hao, if you keep doing that, I'll have to. . ."

" Kick me?" he asked, almost secretly hopefully. It was one of Anna's most famous things to do, actually. After beating or mauling up the person as much as she could, she would stomp off or stalk away.

" Kiss you." she whispered.

His eyes widened.

" What?" he asked.

" Now. . ." she began throatily. He shuddered in absolute shock as he left her left hand graze his thigh. " Where is Yoh?" Her lips were barely inches from his at the moment, and if Hao jsut bent down a few inches. . .

" He's talking to a girl at the end of the bar. . ." he started without thinking.

She snapped, wrenching her hand from his grasp and pushed him out of the way. Hao hit the bar table, half-shocked by her sudden motions, and half-amused that for once he was beaten by a girl in two things; strength and seducing. " So it was all an act, wasn't it?" he whispered to himself. " Not bad. Not bad at all."

Then his eyes widened as he got to his feet, hopefully to pull Anna away from looking when. . .

He noticed her slack-jawed, staring at the scene of Yoh talking to the other girl, his hand on her shoulder, her hand on his waist.

" Ohhh. . . .shit. . . ." he muttered.

END CHAPTER 6

What did you think of it? Don't worry, it's not the end of the world. Yoh and Anna WILL get back together if not the next chapter then the chapter after that. But Anna WILL make Yoh insanely jealous in the few chapters to come though. SPOILER! Sorry to everyone who waited so long for my LONGEST update ever! I guess with the holidays over, life has slowed down by a lot with all the STUPID excess homework given. Chapter 7 will be up soon, so please look out for it in the M section! Please don't abandon me! Boo hoo:( ( Sorry, just watched some emotional Korean movie)

**ReAdEr ReSpOnSeS**

_King of Chaos- - -My thought exactly. Watch it in the M section from chapter 7 onwards._

_Exploded toilet bowl- - - -Lolz. Thanks. Yep, Hao's smooth, but Ren ain't shabby either. It's definite I have to move the story to M if Hao's going to show Yoh the more. . .intimate moves. . .Don't expect any yaoi thought. Lolz._

_blackyuki- - -Yep._

_Peacemaker- - -Haiz, time. It's running through my fingers like water. WATER! I tell you! WATER! Ahem. . .right. . ._

_hannah-asakura- - -Yeah, and Yoh has to go up there and mess it all up._

_Satori-chan- - -Mmm? Oh sure, it's_

_YamiandAnzu4ever- - -Sorry for not fufilliung your wish. . .haiz. . .But I'll be quicker in chapter 7._

_Anna- - - -Yepz._

_azimataiji- - - -Aw, don't say that. . .Thank you. I think your stories are pretty cool too._

_YumeTakato- - -Iffy? I think Hao's pretty cool too._

_hannami08- - - Lolz. Yeppppp._

_Orphen27- - - -Ha ha. Thanks for the compliment._

_merissala- - - Hey, no worries._

_Inu n Shaman Fan- - - -Yep._

_Jojo-Kyoyama- - -Once again, time is not on my side. . ._

_Frank S- - - -Wow! Really? Thanks!_


	7. Jealousy

Thanks for the reviews! This will be M from now on, so please keep checking this out! Finally, a Yoh Anna quarrel. 

CHAPTER 7

" Hao?" Anna whispered in a voice of forced calm, but her eyes and clenched fists gave her away. " What in the name of all that is Holy is my future husband doing talking to some unknown girl at the end of a bar?"

" It's not what you think it is, Anna." Hao said quickly, in a vain attempt to calm her down.

" What is it then?" she said, her voice straining.

Hao didn't know what to say then. He either told her that Yoh was flirting with some random girl which would have gotten him in deep trouble, or tell her that Yoh was getting seducing classes from him, which, if possible, was even worse. " She's his relative!" he said lamely. Her eyebrows rose up to immeserably heights after that, and he knew he said one of the lamest lies ever.

" Don't get mad, Anna." Hao said. " He was just. . ."

" I'm not mad." she said quietly, turning around to walk away.

" W. . .What do you mean by that?" Hao asked uneasily.

She turned around to face him slightly, and he was surprised to see a small smirk on her face. " If he wants to hit on other girls that's fine with me." she said, one of her hands on her hip. " But that doesn't restrict me from flirting with other men, doesn't it?"

" Now hold on there for a minute!" Hao called out, breaking all barriers of cool. Yoh had possibilities of being shot down by all types of women. But Anna was clearly good at what she did, giving how aroused she made him just minutes before. " You can't possibly be serious of that! Yoh might just be feeling hungry for his hormones and sexual desires!"

Bang.

That was stupid.

Anna froze there for a second before walking over to Hao, her head bowed, her fists clenched. Hao took a step back, worried of her inflicting pain upon him, but blinked as she just smirked once more. " Well he's just going to have to bonk some ugly skank wouldn't he?" she whispered, before whipping her hand across his cheek. He gasped, taking a step back, clutching his cheek.

" That's for being a busybody." she said, making her way towards Tao Jun who was waving at her. " And also for looking like Yoh."

Hao just stood there in pure, utter shock for a minute, watching her. She walked to the middle of the dance floor and said something. Ina second there were ten to fifteen men surrounding her, apparently begging for her number. Hao raised his eyebrows, amused. " Well, you have to admit that she's much better and more confident than her fiance ever was." he said.

He glanced at Yoh who was walking over, waving at him.

Hao smirked. " Looks like I have to train you up fast." he whispered. " Because there's going to be competition."

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They left the nightclub at around three in the morning, all looking restless and beat. Hao pulled out a sheet of paper, smiling at it fondly. " Well, let's check out the scores, shall we?" he said almost to himself, while the other three glared at him. " Horo Horo got two numbers, Yoh got three, Ren got a surprising sixteen, and I got twenty nine."

" The amount doesn't count." Ren said angrily. " The girls that I picked up were ten times more beautiful than the ones you got, and were harder nuts to crack."

" That's right! Bok-chamma!" Bason said, appearing.

" But I was rather surprised on how you managed to get that one girls' number, Yoh-donno." Amidamaru said, crossing his arms across his chest. " She was so cold towards you, I was surprised why was it when you gave up and walked away then she gave you her number out of the blue."

" That's how females are like, Amidamaru-san." Hao said good-naturedly.

Amidamaru seemed to be content with his answer.

" But what am I going to say to Anna when I get back?" Yoh asked, troubled. " I told her I would be back as early as possible, and I was meaning the day after! What am I going to do?"

" You could say there was traffic." Horo said jokingly.

Hao bit his lip. He had not seen Anna after the fifteen men had dispearsed. Had she just left for home and pretended that she had not seen Yoh flirting with the girl at the bar? Was she that confident that he would tell Yoh about the incident with her? He rubbed his chin thoughtfully and looked at Yoh. " Oi," he said to him, and Yoh turned around. " What does Anna do when she's jealous?"

Yoh blinked. " That's a strange question." he said.

" But it's a good one too." Horo said.

Yoh thought carefully. " I can't tell when she's jealous." he admitted.

Hao, Horo and Ren's jaws dropped to the ground.

" What do you mean by that?" Ren asked. " You were engaged to her for eight years now."

" That still doesn't justify anything." Yoh said defensively. " Anna always boxes herself up."

" As in. . .a cage?" Hao asked playfully, and the other two snickered.

" You know what I mean." Yoh said. " She never shows emotions to me. I now even wonder if she even. . .loves me."

The three of them stopped laughing immediately.

" Aw, snap out of it, Yoh." Horo said, patting him on the back. " You know she does."

" How do you know that I know, if even I don't know that I know?" Yoh asked.

Horo seemed to puzzle about that for a moment.

Hao merely smiled. " Don't worry." he said. " She does."

Yoh blinked.

" And she'll express it to you sooner or later," he whispered in a promise. " Whether that's a bad thing or not."

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Yoh opened the front door of the house slightly, the small beam of light from the sunlight in the garden shining into the house like a glassy beam. There was nobody in sight. Getting bolder with the sceonds that passed, the door opened for his entire body to slip through before being shut again, a locking sound of the door being followed. The shoes were removed off his feet in an instant, and they dropped to the ground with dull clunks.

If he was lucky enough, he would be able to just sneak into his bed and feign sleep, and just pray that Anna went to bed early instead of waiting up all night for him. One step followed after the other as he made his way up the stairs, not even daring to make a single breath. " Come on, courage, Yoh. . ." he muttered to himself, finally reaching the doors of Anna's room.

Would he dare?

His fingers crept to the door handle.

Yes he dared.

The door slowly creaked open, and he peered inside. He raised his eyebrows, noticing that Anna was nowhere to be seen. That was odd. And scary. It was never a good sign if Anna was out of sight. It was pretty darn bad when she was IN sight too, but that was another story. " Anna?" he whispered. Her name was one of the things that he loved to speak. It was like honey to his lips; but at that moment it was like sucking the rear end of a lemon, sourish to the taste.

She was nowhere in sight.

The door was shut after he reconfirmed the missing of her presence, and he sighed and turned around to make his way to his own room.

" Looking for someone?" came an icy tone.

He jumped a mile before turning around to face his most-possibly-angry fiance. But there was nothing of that sort; just a look of distant coolness, her arms crossed across her chest, something that she did a lot recently. " I went out a lot too late. . ." he started sheepishly. Then he stopped in mid-sentence at what he saw she was wearing. It was a black negilee, perfectly hugging her ever curve, which was low-cut, and ended at her upper thighs. She was positively breathtaking, and it was taking every bit of respect for her from preventing himself from jumping on her that instant.

She smirked. " What's wrong, Yoh?" she asked.

" Nothing." he blushed.

It was then when the phone rang. Yoh blinked and pointed at it, asking her for permission. She merely nodded and walked off, making her way to the television room. He just watched her leave, staring at her in a non-flattering daze when the constant ringing of the phone brought him back to earth. Trying to walk to the phone with the hardening pain in his groin area, he picked it up.

" Asakura residence." he said clearly, still wondering who on earth would call this early in the morning.

" Er. . .Hello?" came a manly voice.

Yoh cocked a brow. " Yes?"

" Is Anna there?" he asked.

Yoh suddenly became unknowingly alert. " Who's asking?" he asked.

" My name's Craig. . .er. . .she gave me this number yesterday. . .I was just wondering if this was the right phone number or she just blew me off with some fake number of something." the person said.

Yoh felt a burning sense of jealousy.

" Oh?" Yoh asked, clenching the phone in his grip. " Are you her relative?"

The person laughed. " No way dude. Too hot to be anyway in my league anway."

Yoh was close to strangling the person on the other line, eyes burning.

" Er. . .did I say something wrong?" the person asked nervously.

" Nothing." Yoh said in a voice of dangerous sweetness, something he never thought he would use anyway. " It's just that you're currently talking to her fiance, that's all."

The person hung up.

He slammed the phone down at marched to Anna's room. He didn't even care to knock but slammed the sliding door of her room to one side, eyes flaming with unknown fury. She looked up from what she was doing irritatibly, ready to snap at him to knock first, but froze at the look of anger on her face. His hand was clenched on the door frame, biting his lower lip. " Craig called you." he said icily. She raised her eyebrows, turning her chair to face him.

" Who?"

" The boy from the nightclub." he spat.

A small smirk lifted onto her lips.

" It's not funny, Kyoyuma!' he yelled, and her smile disappeared. For once, he had never called her by her sirname before, and secondly because of the insane jealousy she had brought him. She had thought it would be funny to see him silently fuming in anger, but this was far from what she had expected. He was angry. It was this when she knew that she played the cards too far.

" Look, Yoh. . ." she started. " It's not what you think it is."

" Oh?" he said, his voice increasing dangerously, in a way that even the bold Anna felt a small pang of fear. " Would you care to explain it to me then?"

" I only did that when I saw you talking to some girl at the end of the bar." she said, and his eyes widened. Biting her lip, she looked up at him. " I guess this is where it's YOUR turn to explain, Yoh Asakura."

His mouth opened and shut, then he hung his head.

She got to her feet and brushed past him, not even looking at him, and was past her room doors when she felt his hand grasp her. She gasped as she was yanked back, and was pulled into his arms. There was a moment of silence as she just stared at him, mouth open in shock as she was cradelled in his arms, his thumb brushing the soft skin of her cheek.

" What the Hell are you. . ." she started, but he pressed a finger on her lips.

" I'm sorry." he whispered.

Silence.

" Did you kiss her?" she whispered.

" No." he said quickly.

" Did you get her number?"

" No." he said again.

" Do you love her?"

" No." he replied, ten times faster than he did for the others.

Silence once again.

" Did you kiss any guys?" he asked her.

" No." she replied.

" How many numbers did you give away?"

" Around ten." she said.

" Were you doing that just to get me jealous?"

" Yes." she replied truthfully.

Silence for the third time.

She pulled away from his grasp and glared at him straight in the eye. Then she whipped her hand across his cheek. " That was for making me wait up for you all night." she whispered angrily.

She slapped him once more, this time harder.

" That was for cancelling the date with me to hit on bimbo girls," she whispered.

His head whipped to a side at that, but he just looked centre at her, eyes although stinging with tears.

She slapped him for the third time.

" That was for making me jealous and hitting on useless guys." she hissed.

A lone tear fell from his eye.

" And this. . ." she whispered, her hand raised. He winced, shutting his eyes.

But they widened as he felt her lips pressed against his cheek, mingling with his tears.

" Is to say sorry." she finished.

His face broke into a smile. " Thank you, Anna."

Blushing slightly, she looked away. " I want to get some sleep." she said. " Get out of my room."

" Okay." he said, and at that moment, the phone rang.

He turned to look at her wirily, and she shrugged.

" You have lots of phones to answer today, I guess." she said.

He gave her a withering smile before shutting the door behind him.

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" Ah? She forgave you already?"

" Yep." Yoh said.

They were in the coffeehouse once again, happily sipping their teas. All except for Faust and Yoh, of course. Faust nodded to himself and sat back in his chair, smiling. " There are no serious injuries, Yoh-kun. But I can presume that you're not going to be able to chew steak or anything hard to munch on for the next few weeks."

Yoh sighed.  
" That's never good news." he said.

Hao just smiled softly to himself as he twirled his spoon gently in his cup of coffee.

" Spill it out." Ren snapped. Horo, Ryu and Lyserg raised their eyebrows at Hao, who had started to giggle.

" I didn't think that she would be so hard to crack." he whispered softly. Yoh's eyes widened as he started to piece the puzzle in his mind, and whn he finally managed to push all the cracks in it his eyes widened. " You knew that Anna would come to the nightclub." he exclaimed, and Hao chuckled, nodding his head.

" That was exceptionally bright of you, Yoh; for someone as dim-witted as you. Yes, I knew she would come. Yes, I didn't bring you to the nightclub to build up your confidence. If Anna saw you flirting with girls on the street she would be much madder than if she saw you in a nightclub. So I decided on that. I saw Anna walking over so I asked you to meet with a girl, which made her jealous. What would happen if she was jealous? She would flirt with other men, knowing that heart of hers. They would call today and you would confront her, and she would confront you equally. Then you two would get in a quarrell and patch up, AND THEN it would be a tender moment, in which the two of you get it on."

The six of them stared slack-jawed at Hao.

" So. . ." Yoh said slowly in disbelief. " That was all your plan?"

" Yep." Hao said, grinning broadly. " But sadly it didn't work out."

Ryu's eyes sparkled. " You're amazing! Hao!"

" Thank you." Hao said, smiling at him, liking him a lot all of a sudden.

" So do you have any new plans for Yoh and Anna now?" Horo asked eagerly.

" Not at the moment I don't." Hao said, rubbing his chin. " Plus, I'm worried for you, Yoh."

" Me?" Yoh asked. " Why?"

Hao bit his lip, dropping two ice cubes into the cup of coffee before him, stirring it silently. " Because, Yoh. . ." he began.

Silence filled the coffeeshop.

" Anna's better at seducing than me."

There had been no time that was quieter than this moment. Yoh's eyes were as wide as fishballs, Horo was just gaping at him, Ryu had one of the most laughable expressions possible, Faust had coffee dripping from his cheek but didn't wipe it off, Lyserg's mouth was wider than when you had to open when you were at a dentists, and Ren was simply speechless.

" What?" Horo asked, after the deafening silence.

" Doesn't that mean that she's pn par with me?" Ren asked anxiously.

Hao rolled his eyes before glaring at Yoh. " I'm pointing this out to you to tell you that if she's better than me. . .AND Ren at seducing. . ." he added piercingly as Ren rose to speak up. " Then we might have a little trouble here."

" Why is that?" Faust asked politely, smiling at Eliza who wiped the coffee away from his face.

" Any man would be at her knees if she wanted to. . ." he said. " Even me."

Yoh's eyes, if possible, widened even larger.

Hao just grinned confidently. " But don't worry. I'm just glad that she's not jealous anymore, or there will be trouble."

The others sighed.

" So what are you planning now?" Lyserg asked.

Hao just smirked, taking a sip out of his coffee. " I've got plenty of ideas. . ." he whispered. " It just depends on when I decide to use them."

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Anna was inside Yoh's room.

It was something that she did frequently; one because she didn't want to stare at that stupidly enormous poster of Boblove, and the other because somehow it always made her feel relaxed. Her fingers ran themselves gently across the thin material of his bedspreed, smiling at it fondly. She was just about to go out without Yoh noticing her when the door of his room slammed open, a grin on his face.

" Anna." he said triumphantly.

" Yoh?" she asked cautiously.

" Let's go out for dinner," he said, winking at her as her eyes widened. " I finally got the bookings to the place you wanted, and as a way to say sorry, I guessed I ought to bring you out once in a while."

She smirked and got up. " Alright." she said. " Just let me get dressed."

He smiled as he watched her walk away.

But she stopped at the hallway, and turned around to smile at him in a rather flirtious way. He felt his face redden at that simple gesture of hers. " What's your favourite colour, Yoh?" she whispered. " Black, white or red?"

He blinked.

" I like orange." he said, scratching his head.

" Choose one of the three, Yoh." she said, rolling her eyes.

All of a sudden he was hoping she was asking for his opinion on underwear. Boy, he wondered how far into the ground she would pound him into if he told her that he liked the colour of transparency.

" Black," he blurted out.

She nodded, and shut the door behind her.

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Horo smiled to himself as he packed up three "documentarial" videos that he was planning to pass to Yoh, and placed them in a white envelope and sealed it shut. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he raised the black marker pen that he was nearby and unscrewed the cap. " Knowing Yoh, he's most probably stupid enough to leave it lying around in his room for all to see. Luckily, Anna's not like Pirika who always goes through my stuff, so I wouldn't have to teach him any secret places. She doesn't seem like the person who would rummage through other people's stuff anyway."

He scribbled on a ' For Yoh Eyes Only', and chuckled to himself. It was a mighty corny joke that almost nobody would have laughed at, but there you go. " Yoh and You. . .that's a good one." he said to himself, before sobering up as Pirika walked inside.

" Hi." she said cheerfully.

" Hey." he said, smiling back.

" What do you have in your hands?" she asked curiously.

" Nothing." he muttered quickly, grabbing the videos and hid it securely behind his back, ignoring the bemused expression on his sister's face. " What's up? Didn't you tell me that you were planning to go to Anna's place? What happened?"

Pirika shrugged. " She said she was going out with Yoh for dinner."

Horo Horo almost fell off his chair. " What?" he asked, flabberghasted.

" She said she was going out." Pirika repeated.

Horo Horo then smiled, chuckling. " Is that right?" he said.

Pirika just raised her eyebrows.

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" Wow."

Yoh was speechless. It was one too many a time where he just sat in one corner, dazing out into nothingness, thanking the Lord that he had Anna as his fiance. She was sweet in her own silent way, smart, strong, beautiful, HOT, cool, which was pretty much the whole package. There were times where he would just be saying to himself, " Anna Kyoyuma is my fiance."

And it tasted sweet on his lips.

This was one of those moment as he just stood there at the doorway, staring at Anna as she slowly stepped down the steps from her room, a small smile on her face. What she was was one thing. What she was wearing was another. It was a long, silky, black, hugging her curves in the right places, but flowed below her ankles. It high-lighted her bosom in an obvious yet classy way. He gulped, his lips dry all of a sudden.

" Yoh, quit staring." she said.

" Sorry." he blushed, looking away.

" Are we walking there?" she asked curiously, looking out, unaware of Yoh's piercing gaze. " Because if we are, I'm changing out of this."

" Of course we're not." Yoh said quickly, not wanting her to change out of it EVER. Well, unless he helped her out, of course. That very thought gave him shivers to the bone. " I borrowed my brother's car."

" Hao?" she asked cautiously.

" How many brothers do you think I have?" he asked jokingly.

She ignored that. " Let's go." she said.

" Yessire!" he said happily.

END CHAPTER 7

This is for all you LOOOVVVVEEEE peeps out there! I felt I should have one whole chapter of purely fluff, because the next chapter will be rather rough. I figured since I was going to put this in M, might as well go all the way, don't you agree? In the next chapter, Anna does some PRETTY nice things to Yoh in his mind. Which obviously is not as it is in real life of course. So if you're the kind who does not like the. . .er. . .more M scenes in my scenes, just skip it, and I'll add more fluff in the next chapter after that. You all have been warned. Plus, the bringing of Yoh's "documentarial" tapes. Will Anna find them? Will she not? Or will Yoh get a go (Hey that rhymes) at it first? Find out in the next chapter! Until then. . .adios!

**ReAdEr ReSpOnSeS**

_Orphen27- - -Lolz. That's a cool idea though._

_YumeTakato- - -Thank you. That's a compliment. But I don't need to say that, won't I? Lolz._

_Iria- - -I won't. That's why there's this chapter. But if you're missing the sauciness, there's plenty in the next chapter. (Grins) Look foward to it!_

_jess- - -Lolz. I hope it can._

_hannami08- - -Here it is._

_Exploded toilet bowl- - -Yeah. And being hot to boot. Lolz. Look foward to chapter eight, k?_

_I-Smiles-U- - - -Hmm. . .Interesting point. I'll try as much as I can to keep them in character. Thanks for the tip though._

_charl- - - Wan't really going to centre into that, but we'll see how it goes, won't we?_

_The Shaman King- - -WHOA! An honor! Lolz._

_tone- - -That's great news for me. Hahaha. . ._

_cherry- - -Then I'll have to try to speed, up, won't I?_

_Mikauzoran- - -Thanks._

_Dream Parfait- - -Yep, that shows that he was stressed out, didn't it?_

_Lushi- - -Thanks! (Broad smile)_

_BabyKaoru-Sama- - -Haha, thanks._

_Peacemaker- - -Yep, but he'll get action with Anna sooner or later in this story anyway._

_Satori-chan- - - -You can bet on that._

_KrayZi- - - -Yeah, Hao's like Hitch. Smooth, cool, handsome. . .just with a different skin colour and. . .yeah._

_pendulumxswing- - -Then I guess this chapter was a major spoiler wasn't it?_

_blackyuki- - -Yep._

_hannah-asakura- - -Yeah, wouldn't you be?_

_azimataiji- - -Haha. Yeah, Anna feel devoted to Yoh in her own silent way, I suppose._

_Frank S- - -Yep. And all of us too._


	8. Control and Urge

This is chapter 8 everyone. If you don't like lemon content, please skip the lines which are italic. It's my first stab at lemon writing , so if it's not well done, please enlighten me. Sorry if Yoh and Anna would be OOC in Yoh's dreams, but he's eighteen, so forgive me, ne? And me, of course. It's hard to keep Anna in character all the time, you know. Thank you, and please continue to read and review. Chapter 9 will be up and at you in a few days, or at most, weeks time.

**WARNING**: **Lemon scenes in due.**

CHAPTER 8

Anna was deeply impressed.

It was nothing like she had expected, all the way from the lift doors to the ceiling tiles of the restaurant floor. Her mouth shaped into a small 'o', her eyes looking at the area around her, obviously impressed. Yoh smiled at her, and chuckled softly as she gazed at the huge fish tank in the middle of the hall in awe. Which was really bad news for him that he did, because she heard him, and spun around to glare at him venomously.

" And JUST what is so funny? Asakura Yoh?" she asked piercingly.

" I didn't say anything." He said nervously, tucking his hands into his pockets. " I just thought it was adorable of you that you fascinated about everything in here."

" It's your fault that I don't get to eat at exquisite places frequently." She snapped. " And what do you mean adorable? If you dare to say that again, I'll take one of those bamboo sticks in that reading corner, pile three or four of them together in one bundle, and stuff it up your. . ."

" This way, sir and madam." A waiter nearby said calmly, not noticing the situation that was about to take place. Yoh nodded at him nervously, walking a couple of steps away from Anna, and it was then when he noticed her dress was semi-transparent. He slapped himself inwardly, but found himself squinting at her, trying to see through her black dress through any means possi- - -

And that was when he slammed face-first into the pillar before him.

Anna raised her eyebrows at her fiancé, unable to hide that small shred of concern she felt for him. " Are you alright?" she asked, bending down, reaching her hand out for him to get up. He opened an eye, and shook it off, getting up himself. " I'm fine." He muttered. " Just. . .tired that's all."

She seemed satisfied with his answer, and walked off without him.

He shook himself.

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" I have one question. . ." Lyserg asked, cocking his brow. " How on earth did Yoh manage to afford to take Anna-san to the most expensive restaurant in Japan?"

Hao, Lyserg, Manta and Ryu were having a quick dinner together before they went for their individual tasks. Ren couldn't come because he had personal training practice, and Horo Horo said that he had something on. It was at this question when Hao and Manta both sighed depressingly.

" I had to loan him my car." Hao said.

" I had to loan him my credit cards." Manta said.

They both sighed.

" Well, looks like I have to spice things up for Yoh before I leave." Hao said, rolling up his sleeves. The others looked at him wirily.

" You're not going to do anything illegal, wouldn't you?" Lyserg asked.

" Of course I will." Hao said, grin broadening. " It wouldn't be my style if I kept thinking inside the box wouldn't I?"

Ryu leaned forward in Hao's direction, his chair in a horizontal direction, swerving on just one chair leg, the other three in mid-air. " What are you planning to do, Hao?" Ryu asked. " Have you got another plan?"

" Yep." Hao said, while Manta stood up to peer over Ryu's shoulder, while Lyserg sulked in a corner, looking disapproving. " I don't think it's wise to meddle into their affairs." He muttered to himself, but the other three heard him clearly. " If you trust Yoh, don't you think he's capable of wooing her himself?"

Hao looked at him, interested by his concept before smirking.

" Lyserg, I would trust Yoh with my life." He said earnestly. " I would trust him even if he was hundreds of miles away, and if I jumped off a cliff, somehow he would be able to save him. But in the concept of seducing women, I would say his possibilities are absolute nil. For shy and giggly girls too, let alone Anna."

Lyserg pondered for a moment before letting out an arrested sigh. " So what are you planning to do?" he asked.

Hao took out a small dummy doll, and on its face was written the word 'Yoh'. Manta's eyes widened. " You're going to make Yoh come onto Anna?" he gasped.

" No, dumbass, that would be instant suicide." Hao said. He muttered something under his breath, and one of his fingers glowed lightly. The other three raised their eyebrows, obviously impressed. Hao pressed it against the voodoo doll's head and the light slowly faded away. " That's it." He said, satisfied with his work, and got to his feet. " I'm going to go off now; I guess I'll see you guys later."

" W. . .What did you do to Yoh?" Manta cried.

" It's nothing, really." Hao said, smiling. " Yoh's just going to experience some things with Anna that he never did in real life."

Ryu's eyes widened. " W. . .What do you mean?" he asked.

Hao just grinned and snapped his fingers, disappearing into thin air.

They just stared at the place where he once stood, before being cut in by Lyserg's snort. " Show-off." He muttered.

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" _Yoh!"_

_Yoh grinned to himself, catching her small fingers in his own, crushing them, nibbling on her neck. She moaned helplessly, her skirt fanning out on the ground beneath her, whimpering in arousement as she felt his smart fingers press against the most secret of her places._

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" Yoh!"

He snapped to attention, coming face-to-face with Anna, whose hand was pressed against his forehead, concerned. " What's wrong with you? The waiter asked what you wanted three times straight."

" I'm alright." He muttered, shaking her hand off his head.

She nodded, and continued to talk to the waiter, ordering for Yoh. Yoh's heart was thumping painfully against his chest, his throat dry. What was that just now? Was it just a dream? His eyes looked sideways, and noticed the waiter leave the small room they were assigned to, and shut the door. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed her pale, creamy leg in view as her dress's cut showed up to her upper thigh.

He bit his lip as he felt his pants painfully tighten.

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" _What the Hell are you doing?" Anna cried as he grabbed her by her hands and pinned her to the table below her. He silenced her with a kiss on the kiss, his tongue eagerly poking against her lips, hearing her moan and writher under him. " Shh. . ." he muttered, his tongue trailing down to her neck, nibbling on it hungrily. " We don't want to be caught don't we?"_

" _Then. . .don't. . .start. . .it in the. . .first place. . ." she muttered helplessly, her legs clinging onto his waist tightly as she felt his fingers slip under her dress, stroking her inner thigh. Something inside her snapped, and she moaned out loud as she felt herself getting wetter and wetter by the second._

_He smirked to himself as they reached the area where she craved his touch the most, and pressed his fingers against her._

" _Umm. . ." he whispered, his teeth unzipping the front zip of her dress, lowering down until he reached the soft plane of her stomach, and he licked his lips at what was covering her chest._

_Red bra. Sexy._

" _Yoh!" she gasped as she left his teeth nibbling on her right breast, and her legs tightened against his hold more tensely. His left hand took a strong hold on her underwear, and slowly pulled it off her, hearing her whimper and groan helplessly. It was wet to his touch. _

" _Say my name louder, Anna." He whispered, a finger sliding into her, and she let out a cry of pleasure._

" _O. . .Over. . .my dead. . .body. . ." she muttered, gasping for breath as he slid another finger into her. She was clinging onto him, and ignored the waiter who was knocking on the locked door. _

' _I'll make you scream my name.' he told her in his head, smiling. " Are you sure about that?" he muttered, sliding a third finger into her, pumping her softly. She bit her lip, her hands digging into his back. But that only spurred him on. His tempo increased, pumping into her faster and faster now, his teeth opening the catch of her bra, and it sprang open. His lips licked her breasts, nibbling her nipples soundly._

" _Y. . .Yoh. . ." she whimpered against her own will._

" _Louder. . ." he whispered, thrusting his fingers into her again and again, feeling her warmth, feeling her sensations, feeling her pleasure. He could feel her tighten in his hold by the passing minutes, her teeth chewing into her bottom lip so hard that he was sure blood was to come soon enough. He pumped into her faster now, and she let out a gasp of pleasure; the both of them ignoring the irritating knocking of the door outside._

_It was at that moment when he slammed his fingers into her again, when she let out an ear-splitting groan, crying out his name just the way he wanted. " YOH!" she screamed, tightening inside of his hold, and let loose, orgasming on his fingers, her face drenched with sweat as she lay back on the table, tired and forlorn. _

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" Yoh!"

He looked up dazedly, his pants painfully tight at the moment. Anna's eyebrows were raised, still chewing food, but was looking at him with a look of uncertainty of his sanity on her face. He opened his eyes and looked back at her. " What is it now, Anna?" he asked, hoping to sound like she was interrupting him in the middle of his. . .

He looked down, his middle course ice-cream totally melted, the cherry floated in the remaining leftovers of what used to be his. . .

" Six dollar meal." Anna finished for him. " You just wasted that. What's the matter with you today? You were just stoning out the entire night?"

" It's nothing, honey." He said reassuringly, then froze.

Her eyebrows were raised so high that they had disappeared behind her fringe. " What the HELL did you call me?" she snapped.

" Nothing." He mumbled.

She glared at him suspiciously. " Don't think you can get all husband-and-wife like on me just because you brought me here." She said warningly, poking his forehead with her spoon. " What are you smiling at me like that for?"

" You're much more gentle and strengthless a moment ago." He muttered under his breath.

" What did you say?" she asked.

" Nothing." He said, getting back to his food.

She just looked at him for a moment before getting down to her food. He sighed inwardly. She was always so cold and strangely strict towards him. . . ' What would she be like in bed?' He mentally slapped himself, and twirled the food in his plate restlessly.

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" _Anna!" he gasped._

" _Keep quiet," she said silkily, tying both of his hands to the legs of the table, and began to remove his jeans for him, and he growled as she released his fly, the cool air meeting with his almost naked legs. She smirked as she carefully tugged his jeans to below his knees and let it rest there, aware of his already rock hard member._

_Her hand brushed against him and he let out a moan, trying to get his hands free but to no avail. " You could try not moving. . ." she whispered throatily, almost to herself, as her hands reached to the waistband of his boxers. He stopped abruptly, but bit his lip as the cool air rested on his naked member. Her hands crept onto his shaft and he let out an impatient moan, almost begging her to continue._

" _Damn it Anna. . ." he hissed, but his heart almost stopped as her head lowered, and pressed her lips against him. He groaned, bucking his lips, totally at the mercy of her as her head dropped and lifted, her tongue dipping itself at his rock hard shaft. " A. . .n. . .n. . .a. . !." he yelled out in bliss as her pace quickened, her tongue continuing to do things that he was sure was illegal in most countries._

_It was at that moment when she did one final thrust, wincing as he bucked his hips up to meet her when he came, gasping as he blew into her mouth, hearing her gasp at the same time._

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His eyes opened, and Anna, this time, was really worried for him. " Are you sure everything's okay, Yoh?" she asked. " You've been dazed for the whole day, I'm starting to get really creeped out."

He wiped the sweat from his face and he smiled comfortingly at her. " Really, I'm alright." He said. " I just have a lot of things on my mind today."

He nodded and got to her feet. " I'm going to the restroom for a minute." She said, biting her lip as she glanced at him once more. " And while I'm there I'm going to get you some wet wipes. . .you look like you need them."

She was right, to say that. But they were not needed on his face.

She left the room and he let out a groan, his hand on his pants, which he was surprised had not exploded with the pressure. He sighed to himself and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. This was weird. Every time he had a sexual thought about Anna, it would appear true in his head. This had to be Hao's doing, he was sure. He was going to have a talk with him about this as soon as he got home. . .but in the meantime, he might as well enjoy it while he could.

His eyes shut and he pictured Anna.

She was wearing that dress she had on tonight. And he wanted her to want him, and to beg for his touch. But she would be doubtful at first. That was what aroused him to no end, didn't it? And he wanted them to be at someone else's house. That brought in the whole excitement. . .the possibility of getting caught. He decided that Ren's house was a good idea. He took in a deep breath and shut his eyes.

Concentrate. . .

Concentrate. . .

Concentrate. . .

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" _Yoh, I don't think we should be doing this." Came Anna's hesitant voice, and he smirked as he saw her, chewing her bottom lip, looking up at him doubtfully. _

" _And why not?" he asked, his hand drawing up her left hand, admiring her soft, supple skin. She shuddered at his touch but managed to keep a thin hold of her self dignity, and her face hardened. " You very well know why." She said sharply. " What if we get caught? This is, after all, Tao Ren's house."_

" _And. . .?" he asked, stepping over to stand behind her, and he kissed her neck, sniffing in a breath of her intoxicating perfume. He could feel her trembling in his arms, and a small smile filled his lips. The room they were in just so happened to be Ren's one, and if he stepped in at any moment of the time. . ._

" _And, if we get caught. . ." she continued, struggling to keep control, but her legs felt weak all of a sudden as she felt him push the left strap of her dress on her shoulder down, and that side of her dress loosened reasonably. " If we get caught. . ." she started out again, almost wringing her hands out in despair as she was unable to conceal the whimper she had been holding in as he kissed the naked skin of her shoulder, nudging away the annoying red bra strap on that same shoulder._

" _Now you're just repeating yourself." He said huskily, biting into her shoulder and she let out a gasp of pain, and, he smugly noted, desire. His hands lifted up to touch her stomach, pushing her against him, and she shut her eyes, enjoying the feel of their bodies pressed close. _

" _Yoh." She started, feeling a hand leave her stomach and slowly lift up her black dress._

" _Mm-hmm?' he muttered, his hand disappearing under the thin lace of the material of her dress, brushing against her most secret of places. _

" _This is-" she started._

" _. . .Not right." he finished for her. " I know. But what makes that wrong to do?"_

_His clever and slick fingers were warping her from all logic, and she felt her legs weaken as he nudged away the thin lace of her underwear, feeling herself grow damp under his touch. " Yoh. . ." she whispered desperately. " . . .Please."_

_Ignoring her now, his hand had dug into her panties, and using his thumb and third finger to part her nether lips, his index finger pressed itself against her painful restraint. She cried out, squeezing her legs together in vain attempt to stop him, but he merely shrugged it off and forced another finger into her. " I think it's best that you don't do anything now." He whispered haughtily. " It'll lessen the pleasure if you do that."_

_She bit her lip once again and relaxed her legs, and Yoh smiled at her._

" _Good girl." He said, nibbling her ear._

' _Where has all my control over him gone to?' she thought furiously to herself, unaware of Yoh being able to hear her every thought, and he smirked. It was his world now, and everything would go the way he wanted. ' I should be slapping him for doing this to me. . .if only my body didn't feel so damn weak at the moment. . .'_

_He smiled softly and turned her around, grinning at her for a moment before pressing his lips against hers while she kissed him back reluctantly, her hands on his chest. He pulled away briefly, kissing her neck, allowing her hands to wrap themselves on his neck, sighing contently. " Come on, Anna." He muttered. " I know you can kiss better than that."_

_In which he kissed her again roughly, and her mouth opened eagerly for his tongue to swoop into her mouth, her tongue meeting his, and they both gasped, aroused, and she crumpled to the floor, him sprawled upon her. He broke the kiss, unzipping the zip on her dress, and pushed both sides apart, enjoying the sight that was brought to his eyes. A fully naked Anna, with the exception of her bra and underwear._

_He ripped the damn thing off her and she gasped, but he wasn't giving her even a second to breath. She felt his tongue on her swollen nipples, nibbling and sucking and licking them with desperation. She took in every shred of desire from him, straddling his hips, bringing him closer to her. Impatient, he pulled himself away from her beautiful breasts and pushed the dress off her. She groaned impatiently, and almost jumped out of it, clutching onto his tightly as he kissed her nape licking his way up to her lips before kissing her roughly once more._

_Naked expect for her damp, red underwear, she was moaning and whimpering in pleasure, and let out a shrill gasp as he pushed her down on Ren's bed, removing the irritating remains of his clothing and looked down at her. He licked his lips at the mere sight of her body, and his hands lifted slowly and pulled her underwear away from her legs and he gazed at her. She shuddered at the raw hunger in his eyes and looked away, suddenly embarrassed._

" _Anna," he whispered, situating himself in the middle of her two legs, and gazed up at her, their eyes meeting. She nodded silently, not daring to trust her voice anymore. He let out a small smile, and pressed himself into her. She let out a loud, whimpering, moaning gasp as he penetrated her, clutching onto his shoulders, her fingernails digging into his shoulders, chewing on her lower lip so hard that blood was sure to come._

_He pushed his length fully inside her and shut his eyes and smiled up at the heavens in accomplishment before pulling in and out of her with a steady tempo, an undying thirst in him that nothing was able to quench. . .except for the goddess below him. His thrusts grew more and more vigorous, finding it impossible to stop at the sound of her encouraging moans. " Yoh. . ." she whispered, his name coming out of her mouth like a prayer, and he pumped, if possible, even faster into her and she cried out. He could feel himself coming quickly, and he bit his lip to brace himself._

" _A. . .ANNA!" he yelled out._

" _YOH!" she gasped, digging into his shoulder blades._

_It was then when he came into her and he gasped out in shock and bliss._

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He opened his eyes.

The room was still empty. He sighed and leaned back in his chair contemptly. Anna, as if on cue, entered once again, the tissues in her hands. " Sorry if I took long." She said, and passed the tissues to him. He smiled at her and accepted it, wiping his sweating face gingerly. " Was I fast enough?"

Somehow, that went through his head entirely differently.

" No." he said simply. " You were just right."

It was then when he realized what Hao had done. He had instilled Yoh's confidence. He was not feeling at all jittery and weird like he did in the beginning of the night. He smiled to himself and started to eat. Anna raised her eyebrows at his strange change in behaviour, but smiled and started to eat all the same.

Yoh thought to himself. Maybe he didn't need Horo's magazine after all. And his " documentarial" videos wouldn't be needed as much as he needed. All he had to do was ask Hao to help him out once again whenever he had the desire to. . .well. . .yeah. He grinned goofily to himself before his eyes met with hers.

" You're the most gorgeous thing I have ever seen." He said.

This time it was her time to blush. Face reddening, she looked away. " Moron." She muttered, unable to ignore her twitching lips which had started to form into a thin smile.

He smiled back.

END CHAPTER 8

Well, what do you think? I know it's not much, but in the next chapter, it will be Hao that will have some. . .fun, due to several requests in reviews and e-mails by your fantastic reviewers. I could have more lemon scenes, or less, depending on what you all want. Just tell me if you want more or less, and I'll update the way I write drastically. Lolz. Please look out for chapter 9!

**ReViEw ReSpOnSeS**

Destiny13- - -In that case, look out for the next chapter. Lolz.

Hao Kyouyama- - -Yep, hanging around Horo Horo would change you a lot. Still, he's eighteen. And that brings us to one thought, " Never has so many hormones circulated within so little." If you get what that means, anyway. grins

candee- - -Thank you. Lolz.

kaoru-chan01- - -Whoops, swipe out that idea. It's actually that they got three of the girl's numbers, not giving away three numbers. I don't think Hao would be that careless would he? Althought Yoh might have given away his number to a few girls were persistant, I guess.

bluemoon88- - -Wow, thanks. That's an honour. I wasn't too OOC in your opinion, right? That's a huge relief. I was worried I was making Yoh too horny for his own taste.

tone- - -Lolz.

Peacemaker- - -Thank you. Do you want more fluff or more lemon? Just a question, by the way.

quill- - -Well, if that's what you want. . .grins I wouldn't mind. I have just the idea for that to happen too. Look out in the next chapter, and I'll try to make that happen.

hannami08- - -Wow, that was confusing. yep, I will try my best to update as much as possible. AS POSSIBLE.

YumeTakato- - -Yep, unless that person is Anna and you're telling her that her ass looks fine in a skin-tight bikini. . .shudders Just good luck to you. Lolz.

utterbliss- - -Interesting question. Hmm. . . .

pendulumxswing- - -Thanks. BTW, I was wondering. . .are you a Lyserg fan? I sort of guessed that by the ' pendulum swings' nickname. Just a question, once again.

Satori-chan- - -Yep, that's what I said. Great minds think alike, eh?

left-alone- - -Thanks.

hannah-asakura- - -Grins That's good news. Thanks.

Exploded toilet bowl- - -Right. I'm shutting the windows at night from now on. Anyway, thanks, and chapter 9 will be up as soon as possible. AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!


	9. Hao vs Anna

This is chapter 9 folks. For all Hao X Anna fans, this chapter is for you. Don't worry Yoh X Anna fans, there are some scenes here too. Please continue to read and review! Things start to get hot real soon!

**WARNING: Lemon Scenes in this chapter too.**

CHAPTER 9

Hao was lazing around in his chair comfortably, raising his eyebrows as something strange or mildly interesting happened on the television in front of him from time to time. But in the whole he just stayed there, rock still, eyes drooping lower and lower by the passing minutes. His eyes opened as he heard the doorbell ring in the far distance. " Opacho," he said, obviously bored out of his skull. " Can you get that?"

There was no reply to that, and the doorbell rang once more. He turned his head and glanced at the door which was a few steps behind him, and all it would take was for him to just get up and walk over to it. He shut his eyes. Already it sounded too tedious. " Opacho!" he called out, louder this time.

Still no answer.

" OPACHO!" he said, yelling now.

" If Opacho is some sort of Mexican swearword," came an icy voice from behind the door, almost cutting through the lazy atmosphere around him like a sharp-edged knife. " I am going to personally ram down this door."

He got up, genuinely surprised of who it was at the door now. " Anna?" he asked, walking over to the door and unlocked it. He swung it open, and grinned goofily at her. " Well, what a surprise." He said, his eyes skimming her from head-to-toe, looking for something to compliment her about.

" Nice bandanna." He said good-naturedly, smart enough to not compliment her body.

He wasn't in a hurry to get slapped, in any case.

She promptly removed it, and slipped it into her bag. He sweatdropped, and stuffed his hands into his pockets. " It looks like you're in no mood for small talk." He said, unleashing an unknown sigh from his throat. " Is there anything that I can help you with?"

" Actually, now that you mention it. . ." she said, a smug grin toying on her lips, the cold attitude se always put on for him disappearing like the brief appearances of the wind. " There actually is. Can you give me something to drink?"

" Sure." He said, turning around to walk into his kitchen. " What would you like?"

" Maybe some lemon juice." She said coyly, and he almost fell over the step that he had missed. He turned around, his heart beating fast. Did she just mean that. . .in that way that girls always flirted him by? " You mean, literally, or. . .?" he asked, trying to keep that smirk on his face with a huge blush that was crossing his cheeks. If she was being her usual self she would have glared at him and slapped him.

But she crossed her legs, smiling at him.

" That depends on what you would like to hear." She said.

His eyes widened before rushing off into the kitchen. " I'll be right back." He said quickly, and disappeared into his kitchen room, and clutched the door of the refrigerator. " Oh my dear God." Hao muttered under his breath, his heart beating painfully against his ribs. Was Anna, the ice queen itako, his brother's FIANCEE, flirting with him?

He took in a deep breath and smiled to himself, taking out the small mug of lemon juice and poured it into a cup. No, he was being stupid. Maybe Anna was just playing with him. Testing his tolerance. She, after all, was angry at him for bringing Yoh to a pub, and this was most likely her way of getting back at him. There was no other possible reason for her to come all the way down to meet him, he suddenly realized, an unknown sense of sadness filling him.

He shook himself, put on a big, bright smile and walked out, holding her glass of lemon juice and walked out. " Sorry, did I keep you waiting long?" he asked.

" Not really." She said, accepting it, and he sat down on the chair facing opposite of her, crossing his legs.

" So what did you come for?" he asked. " Not that I dislike your company." He added quickly, as she looked slightly hurtful.

" I. . .I just wanted to talk to my future son's godfather, what's the big deal?" she asked.

" No. . .Nothing!" he spluttered, and inwardly slapped himself. What was going on with him? He was acting like a full-classed dork. This had never happened to him before. Not for the last six years, anyway. He took in another deep breath before managing another bright smile. Her eyes seemed to narrow, and he blinked at this sudden action.

Wait a minute. . .

Was she really testing him?

His lips twitched and he leaned back in his chair. Well, this certainly was interesting. If she wanted a seducing contest, she was going to get one. But this was going to be tricky. Munising the fact that he was in love with her and she wasn't with him and that she had a body of a Greek goddess, there was one way for women to act innocent, while men wouldn't. There was no way for a man to seduce a lady by showing her his boxers would there?

I mean, that was just plain revolting.

Oh, damn, there she was doing it now.

Her legs were parting slightly, but her black dress slid past her long, creamy thighs, and it rested there just below her thighs, and all he wanted to do was to just reach out and touch her.

" Hao?" she asked innocently, and he looked up abruptly.

" Yes?" he asked, face flushed.

" You're acting weird, are you okay?" she asked.

That was one point for her for noticing him checking her out, and another one for embarrassing him for doing that. He bit his lip. Well, THIS certainly was embarrassing. It was his first of being trashed flat in a seducing contest. Next thing he knew, she would be able to make his Spirit of Fire tap dance. He shrugged it off.

" I'm fine." He said.

She nodded and sipped her lemon juice. He shuddered as she licked her wet lips, and his hands clenching into tight fists. Damn, she was good at this. Now he REALLY felt pity for Yoh. Having one of the most beautiful women ever and not getting to do anything with her. Man, there was never a time that he felt sorry for unattractive people. Yoh at least had the dashing, handsome, unpairable (Well, expect for Hao himself) looks.

He glared at her, but shuddered as she looked at him innocently, her legs parting further. Damn it, he felt like having a shower. A cold one anyway. Turn the water on full blast. Maybe she could join if she wanted too. . .

Damn, he was starting it again. He had to get as far away from this girl as possible, or else he didn't know what the Hell he was going to do. Damn, he might even rape her if. . .

He slapped himself and got up, trying to hide the bulk in his pants as good as possible and turned his head around, meeting with her confused expression. " I'm sorry, Anna, I have to go take a shower. I'll be back in a minute or two I guess."

He walked on, hoping she didn't notice the strain in his pants.

But that was impossible.

She knew.

She always knew.

" Pants too tight, aren't they, Hao?" she asked seductively, and he could almost feel her licking her lips, getting off the couch. He gulped, and praised the Lord that the phone next to where he was standing had just rung.

" I'll get that, won't I?" he said, almost to himself and picked up the phone, unaware of Anna who was behind him, removing the beads from her neck deftly. " Hello?" he answered, almost wearily, and grinned brightly as he heard whose voice it was at the other line. " Hey, Yoh!" he said.

" Hey," came Yoh's voice from the other line. " Is Anna there?"

He was about to reply when he felt Anna's delicate finger pressing against his lips coyly. His whole body froze at the touch of her skin against his mouth. " Don't tell him anything." She said, almost flirtingly. " And whatever happens. . ." she added, her finger leaving his lips slowly. " . . .Don't stop talking. Alright?"

Hao was blushing beyond belief, but nodded numbly.

" Hao?" came Yoh's voice worriedly which brought him back to his senses. " Are you alright?"

" I'm fine." Hao said, rather impatiently and stiffened as he felt Anna's beads wrap themselves around him. One forcing the phone to be pressed against his cheek, the other wrapping his arm to the table, and both legs to the legs of the chair. " What. . .The. . .Hell?" he hissed at Anna, glaring at her, but she just smirked back.

" What was that?" Yoh's confused voice said.

" Nothing." Hao said, glaring at Anna, but he shuddered as he felt her hands on his belt buckle.

" Keep quiet," Anna said, Hao's belt buckle landing on the floor. " We don't want Yoh to know what I'm doing, don't we?"

_WHAT IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT WAS HOLY?_

" Anna! Damn you!" he mouthed, but she merely smiled playfully, her lips pressing against his pants, unzipping the jeans before tugging it down. A moan erupted from his throat as he felt her tongue on his hard member, still constricted by the irritating remainder of his clothing; his boxers.

" Brother?" Yoh asked, sounding more anxious. " Are you sure you're okay?"

" I'm. . .fine." he said through gritted teeth, groaning as he felt her teeth nip themselves playfully on his member, and he bucked his lips, weak in the knees. He glared at the beads that held him in place to stop him from speeding up her slow, agonizing yet pleasurable torture. He never wanted anyone so bad before. He just wanted to rip her clothes off and join her equally as one. But there was one remaining pillar of resistance he had, and that was the fact that she was his brother's fiancée. And he was supposed to help him to court her, not. . .

" Oh My God." He whimpered as she took his full, swollen member in her mouth, forcing him into an ecstasy of pleasure with every beat she took in.

" Brother, Horo Horo was talking to me about Tamao a lot lately." Yoh said, unaware of the situation that was going on at the other line.

" Is. . .that. . .so?" Hao forced out, clenching his fists, his head looking up to the heavens, hoping for death and praying to just drop dead right there and then. After all, this WAS the most glamorous way to die after all. " God. . .damn. . .it. . ." he whispered to himself, almost inaudible, but Anna heard it. She squeezed hard on him and he let out a gasp.

" Don't use the Lord's name in vain, Hao." She said, grinning.

He strained a glare at her, and was about to yell at her once more before she dipped her head again, and plugged at him more forcefully and faster now.

" . . .Ren's drinking more and more milk, of course. . ." said Yoh, but Hao barely heard him.

" Are you. . .almost coming?" she hissed into him, smirking up at him.

" Yes. . ." he moaned. " Oh God yes. . ."

" Do you want me?" she asked him tauntingly.

" Oh dear God, yes. . ." he hissed.

" Hao?" Yoh said abruptly. " Are you okay?"

" Don't stop. . ." he muttered, and she smirked, getting back to what she was doing.

' Was he dreaming?' he suddenly thought to himself. If he was, he might never get in this sort of contact with her ever again. Might as well enjoy it as much as he could.

" Oi. . ." he said, and she stopped, looking up. " I want to see you."

" What?" Yoh's voice came, puzzled, ruining the entire scene. " Do you want me to come over now?"

She smiled, rather drunkenly, and got to her feet. Her hands rose to the back of her dress, and in one swift motion, it was at a pool at her feet, and she let him take in the sight of her, wearing nothing but a black brassiere and silky black panties. " You're so beautiful." He mouthed out.

" And there's more." She said, removing the bra from her chest, and bit her lip as he licked his lips, almost drooling with desire. Her hands reached to pull down her panties before she stopped, and knelt down, ready to continue where she stopped, and he moaned in frustration. " Don't unwrap all your presents before Christmas Day, right?" she said.

" Damn you. . ." he panted, ignoring Yoh, who was yelling into the receiver now.

She smirked and licked the head of his member teasingly, enjoying the sight of the world's biggest playboy gasping and yelling at her for more. But she knew that it was enough already. Time to solve her own fantasies. Her mouth covered his member fully this time and he let out a cry of pleasure, thrusting himself towards her, hearing her whimper and wince at the sudden forceful contact.

But she satisfied her craving and his, both of them ignoring Yoh, who was yelling louder into the mouthpiece, wondering what was wrong with his older brother. She moaned as she felt him get harder and harder into her mouth, and at the point when his member met with the tip of her tongue and he let out a moan, yelling out her name.

" ANNA!" he yelled as he felt himself ejaculate, exploding his fluids into her open mouth and she drew away, gasping for breath.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Hao opened his eyes.

He looked at the area around him.

He was in his living room, the television was still blaring, and this time there was a little person lying down on the sofa opposite from him, eyes shut. " Opacho?" he called out, raising his eyebrows. That was funny, Opacho wasn't supposed to be here, and Anna was. . .

His eyes dawned to the thought and he sighed, lying back down again.

In all things that were damned, it really **was **a dream.

What a perverted, idiotic brother he was being. He got to his feet, before noticing the incredible strain in his pants. He scratched his head and walked over to his bathroom, not bothering to switch on the heater.

He didn't get Anna.

He wasn't getting Anna, and he never was going to.

Oh well.

It was fun while it lasted anyway.

He would just have to settle with a cold shower after all.

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Horo Horo knocked on the door, and not before long the door opened, and Yoh answered it, rubbing his eyes sleepily. " Horo?" Yoh called out, yawning. " My, you're early today."

" That's the whole point, my friend." Horo said cheekily. " I knew that you were one of the lightest sleepers in the world, and Anna was. . .yeah. I wanted to give you the videos before Anna woke up. She'll KILL you if she finds out. And it'll be no picnic for me either."

" About that. . ." Yoh said, although he accepted the package of tapes. " I think I'll pass. Hao helped me out yesterday night, and I figured I'd just. . ."

" Yeah, I heard about it." Horo said, grinning. " It's a pity I wasn't there to see the whole thing, I would have brought my video camera. It would have been hilarious. Not that much for you anyway, receiving all that. . .yeah. . .from Anna. Anyway, Hao asked me to tell you that he'd only help you next time in the most dire of consequences. He said something that if you use it too much then you would. . .get all weird or something."

" Oh." Yoh said, sounding somewhat downtrodden. " I thought that that would be the end of all my problems, but. . ." he ended it with another sigh and walked back into the house. Horo hurriedly removed his shoes and followed him into the house. " So how are you and Anna?" Horo asked. " Is she still mad with you?"

" No, Thank Goodness for that." Yoh said, opening the fridge, getting ready to cook breakfast. " We're like ordinary friends once again." He added, with a depressed sigh.

" And that's bad, why?" Horo asked.

" I was just wondering. . .Horo Horo. . ." Yoh said hesitatingly. " Do you think that Anna even loves me?"

Horo's eyes widened. " What kind of question is that?" he asked.

" It's just. . .she never showed any form of love towards me." He said. This was something that was concealed in his heart for years long, and finally he was pouring his heart out. " She doesn't care when I get hurt, she doesn't buy me presents on Christmas or anything. . .my birthday's coming soon, damn it!"

Horo sighed and nodded. " It's just her character, Yoh." He said sensibly.

" That's right, Yoh-donno." Amidamaru said, nodding his head too.

" That's what I thought of in the beginning too," Yoh said, ignoring the food that he had prepared and looked depressingly at the two of them. " But even Ren showed some acts of friendship towards to me too, and HE'S no jolly jolly Santa Clause. That's what Hao pointed out before anyway. I'm wondering if. . .Anna even loves me."

Silence followed that.

" Yoh-donno. . ." Amidamaru said softly, but he jerked his head and came face-to-face with a sleepy-looking Anna, rubbing her eyes. " Yoh, where's breakfast?" she mumbled.

" Coming right up." He said depressingly.

Horo looked at him, then Amidamaru, then at Anna.

" I'm going to take off." He said, and Anna blinked.

" You aren't planning to freeload today?" she asked.

He just grinned wirily at her before nodding at Yoh. " See you later, Yoh." He said. " And good luck."

" Yep." Yoh said.

' _Good luck?' _Anna wondered.

Horo walked out the door, and shut it behind him.

She turned around and surveyed Yoh. " Good luck for what?" she asked.

" Nothing." He said, avoiding her eye contact. " I'm going to the washroom for a moment."

She watched him until he was out of sight before her eyes noticed an envelope on the table. She picked it up and peered inside. " Video tapes." She muttered to herself, surprised. She looked at the front cover of the envelope and it was scribbled on rather hastily, " For Yoh eyes only." She rolled her eyes. This must be the work of Horo Horo or Chocolove. Something inside her piqued with curiosity, while the other half of her wanted to just respect her fiancee's belongings.

It was Yoh's bad luck on which one she chose to listen to, too.

She nicked one of the video tapes inside the envelope silently, and stuffed it into her pocket swiftly.

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" What? You want **that** as your birthday present?" Hao asked, bewildered.

" Yup." Yoh said, eyes sparkling.

" It's a pretty good idea, actually." Horo said, grinning.

Ren remained silent.

The three of them sat there in Yoh's room, all eyes on Hao at the moment, waiting for his answer. Then he shook his head, and Yoh sighed, flopping back on the chair behind him, the tense moment fading away within seconds.

" Why?" Horo asked. " Why not?"

" I'm sorry, Yoh." Hao said. " Doing to Anna what I did for you last night would not work because of three things. The first thing is that it would be a terribly sexist thing to do, even if she's your fiancée, your wife at every bit but still. It's kind of against of her own will, in any case. The second thing is that in order for her to picture the two of you. . .cuddling. . .in her mind, it would have to be the fact that she had those thoughts in the first place. You see, my voodoo only increases the amount of feelings inside a person. If she hates you, I might make her torture you in her mind."

The others shuddered at the mere thought.

" And the last reason?" Ren asked.

Hao smirked. " She's too powerful."

Their eyes widened.

" I may be a powerful shaman," Hao said, in which the others were forced to admit. " But her skills are almost on par with me both in duels in the ring and seducing. Adding in the fact that she has a much cooler mind than Yoh and the possibility that she has no sexual desires in the first place, the chances of me risking this is positively nil."

Yoh let out a sigh.

" It was a good try, though." Hao said, smiling comfortingly at his brother. " It might have been a very good way to make her totally crazy for you like you are to her now, but. . ."

" I know." Yoh interrupted, clearly telling his brother to stop.

They fell silent.

" Let's go out for dinner," Horo said, getting to his feet. " A guy's night out. It would be the fine time for the guys to have one blast of a night together, and the others can help solve Yoh's problems."

" That's a good idea." Hao said good-naturedly.

" I'm alright." Ren said.

" Before we go, I just wanted to ask you, where are the videos I lent you?" Horo asked Yoh.

" Under my bed." Yoh said. " Anna never looks there."

" I'll take your word for it." Horo said. " Shall we leave?"

" Yeah." Yoh said, following them out. " Just let me tell Anna first."

Hao felt a pang at that but shook himself. _Ignore these feelings, you idiot. _Hao thought. _There's no hope for you and her getting together. _

Ren noticed his rather pained look as Yoh entered Anna's room.

" What's wrong?" he asked, and Hao jumped uncharacteristically.

Hao forced a smile. " I'm okay." He said.

_I'm such a pathetic little liar. _Hao scolded himself.

Ren frowned.

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" You're going out with the guys?" Anna asked.

" Yeah." Yoh said, fingering his hair nervously. " Is that alright?"

Anna frowned, but shrugged. " Alright." She said. " If that's what you want. I wouldn't force you to take me out again."

He bit his lip. " It's not that much of a chore to be with you, Anna." He said quietly.

A thin blush appeared across her cheeks. " What?" she asked, her heart thumping against her chest.

" N. . .Nothing!" Yoh stammered, and turned to go, when he stopped. " Anna," he started, turning around. " Is it okay if I take you out to dinner this Friday?"

She raised her eyebrows.

" What's the occasion?" she asked.

His heart sank.

_It's my birthday. _

" Nothing." He said cheerfully. " Just felt like it. Can you make it."

She looked at him thoughtfully before smiling. " Alright. The food better taste good though."

Yoh gave her a rather forced smile before walking out. " Goodnight, Anna." He said.

She blinked. What the Hell was that. . .?

She shook herself. Oh well. Men were strange. Her fingers edged themselves on the edge of his tape. " I wonder what this strange feeling is?" she muttered to herself. It was something small and almost useless, but something inside was telling her that there was something more to this.

Almost impassively, she stuffed the tape into the VCR, and pressed the PLAY button.

END CHAPTER 9

Whoa, this spells disaster. Please read and review. How's the Hao scene? Due to popular demand of the lemon scenes, I guess I'll add another one in the next chapter, if not in the next. Thanks to all you fantastic reviewers and readers out there!

**ReViEw ReSpOnSeS**

_yohxanna4ever- - - -I think just answered your answer, didn't I?_

_azimataiji- - - Lolz, looks like I just have to work harder, don't I? Still an almost, anyway. Hahaha. . ._

_xxmoonlight-angelxx- - - -Thanks._

_LittLetriXta- - -Yep. Maybe some day I should just make Anna be able to hear Yoh's every thought. Shudders How many times would Yoh be slapped by Anna on that day anyway? Maybe I would. . .Hmm. . ._

_Iriairiavanessayahoo.es- - -grins If you insist, I could embarrass Yoh more in the next chapter. It's inevitable anyway._

_ValleyGurl369- - - -Thank you._

_blackyuki- - -Thanks again._

_candee- - -Mmm? Really? Wow, thanks. At first I thought it was really bad and wanted to write it again, but since you all liked that, I'm relieved! I'll try my best to improve in the hopefully following lemons to come._

_Peacemaker- - -Interesting. But some limes along the way wouldn't harm anyone, would they?_

_utterbliss- - -Great! Thanks for the support!_

_Anna- - - -Yep yep._

_Tone- - - -Nope, it's not the big one yet. Lolz. Hint hint. . . ._

_Hao Kyouyama- - - -Grins As I said, it would be cool if she still could. For you readers, anyway._

_Anna The Ice Queen Itako- - - -Thank you, I think I will. Broad grin_

_pendulumxswing- - - -Lucky for you, I'm not. Yes, he can be a loser at times, with his wallowing self-pity constantly, but he turns out nice in the end when he returns to Yoh's side. The part when he ditched Morphine made me SOOOO pissed.  But he's a nice person, on the whole._

_Dream Parfait- - - Aren't all of us guys jealous too? Lolz. Yep, I would definitely add one more._

_Satori-chan- - -Yep, 18 IS 18, in any case, no matter how laid-back he is._

_BabyKaoru-Sama- - - -Thanks. Smiles cheerfully_

_Orphen27- - - -Thanks. And er. . .thanks again for the last sentence. . .I think._

_Frank S- - -Awww, thanks!_

_hannami08- - - -Yep. But he's a nice brother, all the same. And thanks for the compliment._

_Exploded toilet bowl- - - -Yep. Jubilation!_

_King of Chaos- - - -Eh? King of Chaos? Wasn't it from the Matrix? " Everything that has a beginning has an ending." It's kind of obvious, in any way. Lolz._

_D3m0n Slay3r- - - -Okay then. . . .Is that a good thing or a bad thing?_


	10. Tao Ren vs Anna

This took me some time to think through, but I finally decided on what Anna's reaction would be when she looked at the tape. Which is. . .dum dum dum. . .okay, bad response. To those who enjoyed the moment between Anna and Hao, thank you. And yes, Hao is falling for Anna. Or. . .has fallen, in better phrasing. I already said that in chapter 1, where he confessed his love to Anna. Chapter 10 everyone, please continue to read and review.

**SPOILER: Ready to see if Ren is really as good as he says he is? Judge him in his seduction of Anna in this chapter!**

CHAPTER 10

Anna raised her eyebrows as she watched an attractive young lady appear on the screen. Her eyes rose even further as she noticed that the lady's legs started to spread further. " That is one good-looking woman," Anna muttered to herself, taking a glance at herself in the mirror and sighed, her attention back on the television screen. Was this some sort of humor show? Because if it was, it was definitely not up to any good, being that the fact that it was introduced to Yoh by one of his stupid friends. Naming a few, Chocolove, Horo Horo. . .

She blinked as a man entered the show, and he sat next to her, the area between the two of them unnaturally small. " Come on, get away from him." Anna chanted under her breath as she watched the young lady embarrassed by the young man's leer, silently cheering the woman on the screen on. The man's eyes were staring at the woman's bosom with unflattering desire, and it surprised Anna that Yoh would even want to watch such a boring movie like this.

It was when she decided to switch off the television, when the man suddenly pounced on the woman, ripping off the many shreds of her clothing, laughing at the sound of her whimpers and cries, her hands beating against his back, but it only seemed to increase his lust for her.

" Push him off. . ." Anna breathed, pounding her fists on the ground now. " Come on, weak piece of trash. . ."

The man had forced himself into her, and was pumping into her faster and faster now, the woman no longer struggling. It was at that moment when she let out a strangled cry, and he roared out loud, the man spilling himself into her, and she lay there on the ground, breathing hard.

And there Anna sat like a voyeur, her mouth wide open, her hand still on the remote control in her palm. Somehow, she had still not pressed the stop button. There was a long moment of silence and stupefication that went out through her entire body, and only one clear, distinct sentence wrenched itself out of her throat, spilling out through her lips.

" Oh, my. . .Holy Shit." Anna whispered.

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Yoh sighed as the rest of his friends departed, and Hao and him stayed alone on the empty streets outside the diner. " Well, I don't think they were any much more of help than I was," Hao said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. " While Lyserg's idea was fairly passable, Faust's one was just plain. . ."

" . . .Gory." Yoh put in for him.

" Is he always this. . .?" Hao started.

" . . .Twisted? Yes." Yoh answered.

Hao's lips twitched. " And I thought that I was the one who could read thoughts." He said.

" I just know you very well, that's all." Yoh admitted.

Hao nodded and snapped his fingers, the two of them suddenly on top of his Spirit of Fire. " Come on," Hao said confidently. " You'll be fine with Anna. All you have to do is to take it slowly and one step at a time, and you'll be fine. You have my lessons to look forward to, don't you remember?"

He smiled at Yoh.

Yoh managed a sheepish grin back.

" Yeah." He said. " I guess."

Hao nodded. " For the time being. . ." he said. " Let me take you home."

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There was death written all over the room as Yoh entered, and Hao winced as he noticed the eerie atmosphere which was forced out of the house as soon as they opened the front door. Hao was about to take a step in, and his eyes widened as he noticed that Yoh had raised a hand, beckoning for him to stand back.

" What are you doing?" Hao asked.

" Anna's in no physical danger." Yoh replied, sighing as he put his hands in his pockets. " But I can't say much for me either; when I enter the house and there's this sort of setting. . .I don't think it's good that you stay with me. Not if you want to be kicked in the nuts again, anyway."

Hao just stared at his brother before nodding.

" Alright." He said. " Do you want me to call Faust in tomorrow in case anything happens to you?"

" That would be good." Yoh said, and stepped in, removing his shoes.

" Oh yeah, Yoh." Hao called out, and Yoh turned around.

" Do you want to have a birthday party with the guys on Friday?" he asked him, hands in his pockets. " It is, after all, your nineteenth birthday."

Yoh thought for a moment before shrugging. " I'm alright with anything. But I want the night free though, I want to spend some time with Anna later on."

Hao smiled and walked off. " If you can live until then, of course."

And he disappeared.

Yoh just stood there for a moment before sighing, and walked up the stairs of his house, each step emitting a creek from the steps below him. He had just reached his room when he noticed that the light in the television room was still on. " Is Anna still watching the television?" He said oddly, making his way over to the room, knocking on the door briefly before opening the sliding door.

He heard Anna gasp, the television shutting off immediately, her head wrenching itself around to face him. " Yoh." She said, sounding breathless. " What are you doing here so early?"

" I didn't feel like going out too long." He said simply. " What were you watching?"

" N. . .Nothing in particular." She said, sounding flustered, and his eyebrows raised. This certainly was not a common sight to see. The calm, cool and collected was flustered?

" Anna, are you alright?" he asked, concerned, making his way over to her.

" I'm fine." She snapped.

He seemed unsatisfied with her answer, but he shrugged it off, confident she was capable of taking care of herself. Meanwhile, on her side, her heart was beating painfully against her ribs. What in the world did she have to feel embarrassed about almost being caught by Yoh for watching HIS pornographic movies? It was stupid, now that she thought of it. The first thing she wanted to do was to just slap him fairly on the cheek. That seemed to be the most probable thing to do. But another part of her was shocked that her cheerful, innocent fiancée would. . .

And plus, did she just. . .ENJOY what she saw. . .?

" Anna?" he asked, and she jumped.

" Yes, Yoh?" she said, in a voice of false calm. Yoh just surveyed her with raised eyebrows, and she bit her lip and looked away, uncomfortable by his piercing gaze, when her eyes strayed to his crotch area. She mentally slapped herself. ' You stupid little skank.' She scolded herself.

" Nothing." He said, sounding hopeful to not get on her bad side.

_Should I confront him? _She asked herself furiously. _What would his reaction be? Embarrassed? Scared? Happy? _Once again, something clouded her mind, and she slapped herself mentally again. He was helping her turn off the back switch mildly, clearly unaware of the many situations that were happening in her mind. She bit her lip and watched him smile at her once again. " Goodnight, Anna." He said.

" Yeah." She said numbly. " Goodnight."

That was how she wanted to leave it as. Then maybe she would be given the night to storm it over. Ask him tomorrow or something. Or maybe question Horo Horo or something. She nodded to herself. Yes, she was being clever, not making a big deal out of it. But the next statement spilt out of her mouth.

" Who gave you the videos?" she asked.

He froze, and turned around in a comical robot walk, his face filled with guilt and nervousness. " What videos?" he asked, sweating through the soft material of his short.

" The ones I found in your room." She said plainly.

_Damn. _ He cursed silently. _I knew there was nothing I could hide from her._

" Oh, **those**." He said, trying his best to sound nonchalant, unaware that his voice broke at the last word, causing her eyebrows to rise. " Horo Horo lent me those, he said that I would be amused by them. In fact, I didn't even get to watch them yet. I was hoping to watch them tomorrow or something."

This sounded like a pretty lame excuse, and a cheap lie, even to a half-witted person such as himself. And if it sounded stupid and crappy to him, how would it sound like to Anna? The woman who saw through every thread of mischief and every little bit of a lie? But somehow she seemed satisfied with his answer and nodded, walking past him. " Alright." She said vaguely. " I'm going to be bed. Remember to switch off the corridor lights."

" Okay." He said, watching her leave, shutting the door behind her.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

" That was a pretty good impromptu lie over there." He muttered, patting himself on the back.

Little did he know that Anna was peeking at him through the tiny slit in her door. She smirked and shut the door and leaned her back against it. " That was your most pathetic one yet." She said silently. " Just how stupid do you think I am, Asakura Yoh?"

Nothing answered her but the silence of the night.

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" I KNEW you would get caught!" Horo Horo said furiously, glaring at Yoh, who was shrinking smaller and smaller by the furious glare by his two friends, Ren and said before person. Hao just sat in one corner, his eyes peering around the coffeehouse for beautiful women. " There's one golden rule in the art of pornographic movies, Yoh Asakura." Horo said, stabbing his finger onto Yoh's chest.

" And that would be. . .?" Yoh asked sheepishly.

" NEVER get them found out." Ren finished for him.

" Oh, come on guys, get off him." Hao said kindly, receiving a gratefully smile from his brother. " It's not his fault that he's bad at hiding his stash. He should be glad that he's still in one piece. I didn't have to call Faust in, which is some sort of a miracle."

Yoh sighed, his chin hitting the coffee table. " Thanks a lot." He muttered.

" Besides, she's a lioness." Hao continued, leaning back in his chair, the four of them ignoring the usual stares that they always got when they entered the coffee shop and started their strange conversations. " I doubt that anyone would be able to seduce that easily. . .even me."

" What do you mean 'even you'?" Ren asked warily. " Shouldn't you say 'even Ren'?"

" But I'm better than you, my friend." Hao said pleasantly.

" No you're not." Ren said, his voice rising dangerously.

" What about the competition at the nightclub? I got more phone numbers than you did."

" I bet most of them did because they knew who you were. You were in your turf and prime at that time, anyway." Ren said factually. " You're nowhere close to me."

" Care to increase the wager?" Hao said, a strange glint in his eye.

Ren looked slightly suspicious at this.

" And what would that be?" he said.

" If you are able to kiss Anna fully on the lips without her slapping you then after, I would admit that you are on the same ground as me. If not, I will tell the name of the girl that you're in love with in front of everyone." He bent close to Ren, his eyes now red with bursting energy and enthusiasm. " Including her."

" That's stupid." Ren snapped. " For a first, I do not go off seducing my friend's fiancées."

" What's the matter, Ren?" Hao said. " Chicken?"

" No." Ren said, flushing. " I just don't want to betray my friend."

" Come on, Yoh won't mind. Won't you?" he added, looking in his brother's direction. He knew that Yoh would mind. He knew that Yoh knew that he knew that Yoh would mind. But he was still not sure if Yoh knew that he knew that if Ren knew that Yoh knew what he knew then he would be suspicious of the whole thing. Yoh looked wholly like he wanted to decline and make the two of them swear not to touch Anna. But on the other hand, he would seem like some sort of a spoilsport. He looked at Hao, and noticed he was smiling.

" This is also to see what are Anna's weaknesses and strengths." Hao said to him, nodding confidently at him. " Ren would be sure to tell you all about it."

Yoh bit his lip and sighed, nodding. " Alright then." He said, rather depressingly.

" Yoh. . ." Ren said slowly.

" No, it's okay." Yoh said, smiling. " You'll tell me what her reactions are, won't you?"

Ren's eyes widened before smiling. " Yeah." He said. " Of course."

Then he paused, and looked at Hao with narrowed eyes.

" Hang on." Ren said to Hao. " How do I know that you know what the name of the girl I like is?"

Hao smirked and bent low to Ren, and whispered out a single name.

" Pirika." He said softly, and drew away.

Ren's eyes were wide with shock before smirking.

" You truly are a master at your work." He said.

" Thank you." Hao said. He dropped several coins down on the table. " Shall we leave?"

Horo looked lost. _Who is Ren in love with? _He wondered.

Ren looked at Yoh once more, who just nodded and smiled confidently. " Alright." He said.

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Anna was doing the laundry.

That was not a common sight to see, but she had too many things on her mind, and just wanted to spend some time alone. Reading a book was stupid because she would need some certain amount of concentration, sleeping was impossible because she was too troubled, and watching television would be the worst of all, because that was the one true source of her problems. She bit her lip and tossed several of Yoh's jeans into the washer.

Outside, the four boys watched her.

" She looks really pretty when she's quiet." Horo said.

" Yeah." Hao said, shivering slightly.

Yoh bit his lip once more. Although he agreed to allow Ren to seduce Anna, it still angered him slightly at the sight of other guys ogling at his fiancée. And Ren read his mind perfectly. " Relax." Ren said, a hand on Yoh's shoulder. " I wouldn't do anything funny to Anna." He said. " I wouldn't dream of it."

Yoh smiled warmly. " Thank you."

Hao smiled softly. _Ren really **is **a good friend. _He thought.

" Well, get going." He said, taking out a watch. " How long should we have to wait?"

" Give me ten minutes." Ren said, smirking, before walking in, shutting the door behind him.

Yoh looked sideways at his brother doubtfully. He was finding it strange since the time when Hao first placed the bet with Ren. Why would he want to place such a ridiculous bet with him in the first place? Sure, he said it was to test on Anna's weaknesses and strengths. But what was his real motive? Yoh was not sure.

Hao smiled.

" Don't worry, Yoh." He said. " It's all part of my strategy."

And Yoh left it at that.

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Anna spun around, startled by the sudden noise, and blinked as she saw who was walking down the steps which led to where she was standing. " Ren-kun." She said, sounding rather confused. Ren was always there in her house when Yoh was there, but whenever Yoh would be training or out of the house, Ren would never be around. He never seemed to be **that** fond of Anna anyway. He respected her, yes, but he didn't seem to be the kind of person who would invite her to his birthday party or anything. " What are you doing here?"

" I thought that Yoh would be here. . ." Ren started, his voice purposely trailing off.

" He went out for lunch with his friends." Anna said.

Bingo. Ren smirked to himself. There she fell into his first trap. " Really?" Ren said, scratching his head. " He told me that he would meet me here at around this time. . ."

" Then I guess he's coming back soon." She said quietly.

Bingo. The second trap.

" Right." He said. " Is it okay if I stay here and wait?"

" Sure." She said. " The living room is. . ." she started, unknowingly falling into his next trap.

There was the third.

" No." he interrupted, and she stopped.

" What?" she asked.

" I was hoping. . .I could wait here." He said, notingly raising his voice slightly, perfectly sounding bashful, but yet at the same time seductive and peaceful.

Her eyes widened.

He scratched his head, putting on a doubtful front. " Unless you mind. . .?"

" No." she said, cutting him in. " You just shocked me, that's all."

Bang. Another one. This was almost too easy.

" Why?" he asked. " Am I always cold towards you?"

" Everyone but Yoh and Pirika." She said.

He counted softly under his breath, maintaining a short silence.

" You thought I hated you?" he said softly.

She turned, the pants she was ready to iron still in her hands. She looked questioning at his sudden change in behavior towards her. " You could say that."

Crap. He cursed silently. She didn't fall into that one.

He walked up until he was right behind her, her back still facing him, yet he was sure she could feel his warm breath tickling her ear. " I never did." He whispered. A hand snaked out to gently touch hers. He could almost feel her tense up against him. " In fact. . ." he whispered, his mouth just inches from her ear now.

" I think I'm in love with you." He added.

There was silence for a moment.

" What?" she asked, turning around this time, and this time they were barely noses apart. He put on his softest smile yet. " I know that you belong to one of my best friends." He whispered. " And I'm in no position to snatch you away from him; I don't want to destroy his life. . .or yours."

That was it.

Just a bit more.

" But I just had to say this to you." He said.

Her eyes were wide. What was that that dwelled deep inside?

He just couldn't make it out.

_Say it. _He thought fiercely. _Come on. . ._

" I'm sorry, Ren." Anna said, stepping away from him.

Yes, he thought in triumph. Time to put the icing on the cake.

" Anna." He called out, and she stopped.

" Can I do something to you?" he asked.

She flinched, her back still facing him.

" What is it?" she asked.

One. . .He counted.

Two. . .

Three. . .

Okay.

" Can I hug you?" he asked.

She turned, her peach-soft lips opened in a vague wondering expression that Ren found enchanting. Even he felt a soft blush grazing his cheeks at that moment. He wrapped his arms around her, clutching her into a deep embrace, noticing her let out a small gasp. " Ren. . ." she started.

He pulled away from her, and gazed into her eyes.

One. . .

Two. . .

Three. . .

This was it.

He bent down lower to press his lips on hers, shutting his eyes.

He felt his lips press against skin, and his eyes widened as he found out that the thing that met his lips was her finger. And there was no wondered expression on her face anymore. Instead there was that proud smirk, and her finger left his lips, chuckling slightly at his shocked look. " That was pretty well done, Ren-kun." She said. " There were times when I almost thought that what you meant what you said."

_WHAT THE HELL?_

" What do you mean?" he said, throat dry.

" I noticed that your eyes shone when I mentioned Pirika's name. It was then when I realized that you were in love with her, and not me. Hao called Yoh yesterday, and Yoh told me that you were meeting them. Your smooth lie turned out to be the largest mistake that you made. I'm guessing that Hao dared you to kiss me without me hitting you. You're too nice a friend of Yoh to even try to hug me."

Ren's eyes were wide as saucers now.

" So. . .You were acting that you were affected by me?" he asked.

" That's right." She said. " But don't be disappointed that you didn't manage to win me over; a normal girl would have been head-over-heals in love with you by now. It was very well done, and for that I applaud you."

His eyes were now, if possible, even wider now.

She grinned.

" I knew that Hao would get you to do something like this. That's a weakness of yours, your pride is too big. I guess he said something about respecting you if you managed to succeed?"

Ren nodded mutely.

" Trust him to come up with something this original." She muttered, turning around. " Tell him to try his luck on me, and I'll dump him faster than I did to you. . .how about that?"

Ren was speechless.

She truly was better than him.

She was better than Hao.

Than anyone.

" Thank you." He said, and walked off, before stopping.

" Anna-san?" he said.

" Yes?" she answered.

" Please don't mention this to Pirika." He said, ears red.

She smiled softly. " Won't breathe a word."

He smirked and walked off. " Thank you." He said.

He left the room, and shut the door behind him, but he had time to whisper one last question to her.

" What are you, Anna Kyoyuma?" he whispered, shutting the door behind him.

She raised her eyebrows, looking at the door that now held Ren, and most probably the others, who were anxious to see how it went. " You'll just have to find that out, won't you?" she said silently.

END CHAPTER 10

How was it? I hope Anna wasn't OOC or anything. How was Ren? Smooth enough? Please put down your comments here! Thank you! Chapter 11 will be up as soon as possible! Yoh's birthday's coming up! Dum dum dum!

**ReViEw ReSpOnSeS**

katsumi01**- - -**Lolz. Thank you. Yes, the bad boy falling for his brother's badass fiancee. What else could be worse?

Iria- - -Thank you. Glad you liked it. Hey cool, I know a French word!

kawaiisaru07- - - -Thank you.

Anime Master Inu- - -Whoa, that would mean me having to stop the story if both of them realize each other's love, wouldn't it? Grins Thanks for adding me to your favourites!

hannami08- - -Haha. I love your reviews. They're all so bubbly and nice. :) Thanks for the compliment. Please continue to check out my story.

Miakoda13- - -Yep, I wanted Hao to just be imagining that Anna was seducing him in her mind when all she wanted to do was talk to him. . .but I just thought that I should give him some action, and hey. . .nobody's complaining right?

azngirlchibi- - -It's definetly Yoh/Anna, but with some Hao/Anna scenes. Don't worry.

Orphen27- - -Why, thanks. Yeah, it would be impossible if Hao wasn't dreaming. Never mind that, thanks for supporting my story!

Peacemaker- - -Yep, un-forced is my middle name.

Exploded Toilet Bowl- - -I don't think I will. Maybe a little RenXPirika, not none of Horo/Tamao. Sorry.

hanna-asakura- - -One can only hope that she will remember.

cherryblossom- - -I guess most of you are pissed that she forgot his birthday. But let me put it this way. . .she might have even forgotten her birthday too if nobody reminded her.

BabyKaoru-Sama- - -Thank you.

candee- - -Well, you could say that, in a way. . .Lolz.

pendulumxswing- - -Grins Yup yup yup!

Harmony8390- - -Then I guess I'd better get right down to work, shouldn't I? Lolz.

YumeTakato- - -Yep, thanks for the review. I'll see you too.

Satori-chan- - -Don't worry. She'll remember somehow. I think. . .

blackyuki- - -Looks like you all are pissed because she did huh?

Felix-samma- - -Lolz. I'm glad I tricked all of you at that one.

D3m0n Slayer- - -Horo Horo's ass is, anyway.

Anna - - - -Thank you.


	11. Reading you like a book

Finally some scenes when they're in school! Sorry for forgetting that they still had to attend college. Lolz. They're all in the same school here, sorry if that makes some of you upset by that. Of course, Faust doesn't go to their school for obvious reasons. Sorry if there will be only a few Anna/Yoh scenes in this chapter. But there will be tons in the next. Please read and review.

**SPOILER: What I always hinted you guys, Anna will be able to hear everyone's thoughts for a few hours. **

CHAPTER 11

" So how did it go?" Hao asked.

Ren leaned against the door, sinking down onto the ground below him. " I lost to her terribly." He said, sighing, and the others stared at him, mouths open wide. The most Ren would do if he was defeated was to probably just smirk and say that he wasn't serious about the whole ordeal. Or at the most admit that he was beaten, but only slightly. Very slightly. Thus, it was obvious on how shocked the others were to see him admit defeat.

" That's exactly what I told you." Hao said silently, walking away.

" So. . ." Ren started, but was interrupted by Hao.

" I guess, in a way, you're on a par with me, aren't you?" Hao asked, grinning broadly. " You kissed her, and she didn't slap you. Whatever reason why she didn't, it's a wonder to me. But the fact that nothing happened to you still amazes me, and that deserves my respect."

Ren's eyes widened.

" But I didn't kiss her. . ." he said.

" You seduced her." Hao said. " And she did nothing. That's admirable enough."

The others watched him leave, Ren's eyes wide, watching him until he disappeared down the stairs before smirking. " Ass wipe." He muttered. " Another cool exit."

Yoh seemed depressed all of a sudden.

Ren smiled at him comfortingly. " It's okay, Yoh." He said. " We'll find out her weaknesses soon enough."

" It's not **that**, Ren." Yoh said half-heatedly.

Ren raised his eyebrows.

But Yoh said nothing more.

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Soon, it was the end of the school holidays, and all of the fellow shamans, excluding an overage Faust and including Anna had to return to the university not too far away from Yoh's house. Yoh sighed as he took his shoes from his locker, and slammed it shut soon after. Manta looked at his depressed friend with raised eyebrows, and was polite enough to wait until Yoh had grabbed his books and bag from inside his other locker before springing up the question.

" Is something troubling you, Yoh?" Manta asked.

Yoh remained silent at that for a short moment before nodding glumly, walking into the English classroom with Manta jogging behind him to keep up. There was almost nobody in the class at that moment, except for a young blue-haired girl who was reading a book of Shakesphere's Twelfth Night at her desk silently. She noticed the two of them enter and waved at them, shutting the book. " Morning! Yoh! Manta!" Pirkia said cheerfully.

" Morning." Manta said.

" Mm." Yoh said gloomily, setting his bag down on the table.

Pirika raised her eyebrows at the attitude-changed Yoh. " Wow, and I thought that only us females PMS-ed." She muttered under her breath before patting Yoh on the shoulder, who had already plopped headfirst on his table. " Come on, Yoh. Spill it out. It's not good to keep things bottled up for too long."

Yoh looked up at her.

" Would you be upset if your brother forgot your birthday?" he asked.

Pirika thought for a moment before gasping.

" I know why you're upset!" she exclaimed.

" Really?" he said, cocking his brow. " Why?"

" Hao forgot your birthday!" she said, and Yoh sweatdropped.

" It's Anna, actually." He said.

" Anna forgot your birthday?" Manta said curiously. " I didn't think she would."

" Yeah." Yoh said, sighing once more.

Pirika bit her lip. " I don't think you should be too upset about the whole ordeal." She said and the two of them turned in her direction, eyebrows raised. " Because Anna doesn't remember dates at all." She continued hastily at the offended looks on their faces. " I don't think she even remembers her own birthday. I went to her house once to give her a birthday present when she just raised her eyebrows at him and told me she didn't know it was."

Yoh's eyes widened.

" Really?" he gasped. " So I gave her that huge Boblove poster for nothing?"

Pirika shrugged.

Yoh rubbed his chin. " So she doesn't remember dates at all. . ." he muttered under his breath, in an effort to cheer himself up. So she didn't even know her own birthday. So it was obvious that she would forget his, wouldn't it? Still, it would have been sweet and nice if she remembered though. . .

The two of them seemed to read his mind. Manta and Pirika exchanged a worried glance, and were ready to gush into a series of speeches on telling Yoh that everything would be alright, which seemingly would have no effect when Ren stepped into the classroom, a glass of milk in his hand. He opened his mouth to say something to Yoh, but snapped it shut at the sight of a seemingly unconscious Yoh. He looked at the other two, and blinked as Pirika waved at him.

" Good morning." She said cheerfully.

He ignored her and turned to Manta.

" Tell Yoh to meet me during lunchtime." He said to him flatly, before slamming the door behind him.

Pirkia looked remotely abashed, looking down at Manta in confusion. Manta didn't know what to do at that point of time. He could either lie to her, and tell her that Ren probably had some sort of grudge against her, or tell her the solid truth, and tell her that as Ren walked out, he could see the faint blush on his cheeks, and the small smile that had formed on his face as he had looked at her. He settled for a sheepish shrug, finding it best for the two of them to figure it out themselves. Him to confess to her, her to find out her love for him.

He smiled at her.

And she just smiled back.

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" Oh my god, Hao! Yes!"

Hao smirked to himself as he slid another finger into her, feeling her inner muscles clench against his fingertips, her head looking up at the sky in ecstasy. He almost sighed in boredom as the girl screamed him name and came, whimpering to his touch as he pumped into her faster and faster. It was the same routine. He stopped a beautiful girl in the hallway, said something to her, she would follow him into some empty classroom, and it would soon lead to. . .

" Hao! I'm. . .I'm coming!" the girl screamed, for almost the umpteenth time.

. . .This.

He was amused and pressed his lips against her nape, hearing her gasp out his name. " That has to be the third time you said that." He whispered, and she moaned in response as he slid another finger into her.

" Oh, God Hao. . ." she whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck, biting her lip, shutting her eyes tightly.

" You don't have to feel embarrassed that you did." He said, pumping into her faster now and her eyes burst open, screaming his name at the top of her lungs. " In fact, girls usually have orgasms for six times straight when they're around me." He stated, sounding factual, like a teacher in a classroom.

Suddenly the door of the classroom opened and there stood Anna, her eyes widened, her mouth opened in a small 'o'. Hao turned to meet her eyes and smirked at her as she dashed out, slamming the door behind her. He pulled his fingers out of the girl, ignoring her calling out for him to return, and shut the door behind him.

There Anna stood outside the door, her hand covering her mouth.

" I always wondered . ." he said calmly, and she jumped at the sound of his voice. " Whether there was anything in this universe that could make the great Anna Kyoyuma blush or feel embarrassed. Which I now come to the conclusion. . .and that is close human contact. You blushed and dashed out of the bathroom when you saw my brother's naked body, and now you're embarrassed when you walk in on me and a girl making out."

Anna spun around, glaring at him, hand raised.

" Don't tempt me." She growled.

" To what?" he said, not an inch of fear in his body. " To shag me or to slap me? Because I have to admit, both choices sound rather arousing, and I wouldn't mind either one."

" Go to Hell, you pervert." She muttered, making motion to walk away when she felt his hand grasp hers. She whipped around, slapping him clearly on the cheek. He smirked and, grabbing her hand, slammed her against the wall, crushing her fingers in his tight hold. She winced in pain, biting her lip to prevent herself from emitting any signs that would hint of the pain he inflicted on her.

" I don't blame you for that, actually." Hao whispered, his face leaning in closer towards her. " Because I have the same problem too." He added, smiling cheerfully.

" You're a worse liar than Yoh." She hissed, her leg rising to kick him in the groin when he caught her between his two knees. She let out a cry of frustration.

" It's true, Anna." He said, the smile still stuck on his face. " But of course, my case is not as bad as yours. I mean, you wouldn't even allow your fiancée to give you a French Kiss, for crying out loud."

She flushed. " I would." She said.

" Is that so?" he said, eyes twinkling. " I must tell that to Yoh some time later."

She slapped herself mentally for falling for his trick.

" I'm about to tell you a secret, Anna." He said. " Can you keep one?"

She didn't answer, but her head nodded a fraction of an inch reluctantly.

He smirked.

" I. . ." he said slowly. " I've never had a first kiss before."

There was silence beyond silence that followed that.

Half of Anna wanted to laugh. The other half wanted to just snort at the thought. But at that thought she remembered that she had never seen him kiss anyone or any girl before. There was one girl who asked him if she could kiss him, but he politely obliged. But word had it that she slept with him after that.

Still. . .

" You. . ." she said. " You've never been kissed."

" Right." He beamed.

Silence again.

" Well, that's a surprise." She said.

" Yeah." He said gently, removing his tight hold on her.

Silence once again.

" You're even more extreme than me!" she said, mouth wide open.

" No I'm not." He said, sounding offended. " There hasn't been a girl in the school that hasn't been screwed by me before!"

" I haven't." she said coldly.

" That's because you're my brother's fiancée." He said lightly. " I have rules in the end, after all."

" I find that hard to believe." She muttered, rubbing her sore arms. " So you're claiming that you could have sex with me if you wanted to?"

" That's the fact." He said, sounding pleased that she came to the point so quickly.

" Rubbish." She snorted. " The only person I would have sex with is. . ."

She stopped in time at the sight of Hao's smirk.

" Yes. . .?" he said, grinning broadly.

" Oh, shut up." She muttered, blushing.

" Come to think of it. . ." Hao said, rubbing his chin. " You still haven't told me how extreme the two of you have gone yet."

" Nowhere." She said harshly.

" Not even to the point of soft petting?"

" No." she said, harder this time, a blush grazing her cheeks.

" Does he even know your cup size?" he asked, exasperated.

She slapped him, and he jumped back, rubbing his cheek.

" Hentai." She whispered. " I can't believe I've wasted so much of my time on you. I'm leaving."

" You're 34C aren't you?" he asked, his lips twitching.

Her eyes widened. " How do you. . ." she started, before she noticed that she had fallen for his trick again. Her cheeks burned. " Damn you." She growled.

" It's another one of my specialties," Hao said, leaning against the wall behind him. " I can usually tell the three measurements of a girl by just looking at them. Yours are 81. 59. 84, am I not wrong?"

The blush seemed to spread throughout her entire body.

All of a sudden she felt violated.

" You're sick." She spat. " I bet there's no guy in school that's even **half** as perverted as you!"

" Want to put a wager to that?" he asked, standing up straight now, suddenly sounding interested.

Anna looked suspicious. Nothing that Hao planned or wagered on was just plainly for fun. Everything he said or did had an objective or target. Even the most simplest of actions such as eating dinner at their house had to have a hidden meaning within it. Hao laughed openly at her cautiousness, stepping up towards her. " You don't have to worry, Anna." He said. " I don't have any secret agenda. It's just a simple bet."

" I find that hard to believe." She snarled.

He shrugged. " You started the bet. It's your choice whether you want to back out."

" Who said anything about backing out?" she snapped.

" So you're in?" he asked.

" I never said that either."

" Then make a choice, dear Anna." He said.

" Don't call me that." She said menacingly. " Now get on with the details."

" I take it that you're in?"

" I never said that." She said. " I just want to know what it is."

" I'm afraid that's not going to work." He said pleasantly. " I'll only tell you what the deal is after you agree to participate in what I'm about to offer you."

She raised her eyebrows at him for a moment before sighing.

" Okay." She said. " I'm in."

" Lovely." He said. His hand reached into his pocket and pulled out what seemed to be a small bottle of white drink. He tossed it in her direction, and she caught it swiftly before looking at it. She tipped the bottle to a side slowly, and the substance inside sloshed gently. " It's a creation by Faust." He said at the look of her face. " I went to his place for a short visit, and he gave me a sample to use."

" What's inside it?" she asked.

" A mind-reader." He said cockily. " Whatever a person thinks would be implanted into your brain. However, the only bad thing about it is that you can't read the minds of the people who are thinking, because it would be really hard to differentiate what the person's thinking, and what the person's thinking."

She raised her eyebrows at him.

" It's almost as if you knew I was going to walk in on you and call you a pervert." She said suspiciously. " Who the Hell would bring this sort of thing on their body for no meaning at all?"

" That person would be me." He said. " And I'm amazed you realized that so soon."

She glared at him before smirking. " What's the deal?" she asked.

" Simple." He said. " Listen to the minds of your 'pure' fiancée Yoh Asakura. If you can say to me clearly that his thoughts are as pure as mountain water, I would do anything you ask me to do."

Her eyes flared with anger and slight enthusiasm. " And if I lose?"

His eyes twinkled.

" Anything I want." He said, as clearly as day.

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Yoh and Manta left the classroom with Chocolove lagging behind them, looking worried at the sudden change in behavior of his cheerful friend. In which Yoh just smiled at him, however forced, and told him not to worry. After ditching Chocolove somewhere around the lunch area, they made their way for their next class. " What do you have now, Yoh?" Manta asked his friend lazily, his hands in his pockets.

" I have free period next." Yoh said lazily. " I'm meeting Anna in the library."

" Oh." Manta said, sounding disappointed. " I have mathematics. I guess I'll see you later?"

" Yeah." Yoh said, nodding. " See you."

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She looked at him rather apprehensively and he just shrugged, turning his heel to walk away. " Just tell me about it tonight. We'll all be there at your place anyway."

She raised her eyebrows. " What do you mean?" she asked.

His mouth opened to tell her.

But he shut it, a smirk playing on his lips. " Today's Friday, right?" he said.

" Yeah. . ." she said, cocking her head. " Why?"

" Never mind." He said. " You better leave too, I have a feeling the girl inside is just about to come out. She was waiting for me to leave before coming out anyway." With that, he left.

She blinked.

Friday.

It sounded familiar.

Weird.

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Anan walked down the hallways, the drink still lounged in her hand. She looked at it doubtfully, opening the cork of it, and the solution fizzed noisily before swaying gently with every step that Anna took. She raised her eyebrows at it before drinking the contents in one sip, and placed the empty bottle back in her pocket. The drink seemed to squirm in her stomach for a moment before it stopped, and she looked around.

" Let's see if Hao was just talking rubbish." She muttered to herself, walking past two boys just a year above her, ignoring them as they waved at her cheekily.

' _Damn that bitch is hot.' _She heard one of their thoughts pound into her head. _' God damn it, if she wasn't Yoh's fiancée, I would just grab her and slam her against the nearest wall, and plunge myself into her until she begs me to stop.'_

Her head whipped around, but the two of them were just walking away quietly.

Her heart was hammering against her ribs. What the Hell was that? Did she actually read that person's mind? She stood in that appalling position for a moment before shuddering and walked on. " Still, that doesn't prove anything." She muttered to herself. " That guy's probably a pervert or something. Yoh doesn't think about me that way. . .does he?"

It was at that moment when she remembered the many times which he **proved **that he was still a man, and a man pumping aderline to add to that. Firstly was the time he asked to make love to her. The next was when they kissed on the bridge and he took it even further than that. Not to mention his usually stiff-feeling pants. And last but not least, the pornographic tapes of his that she found. . .

All of a sudden she regretted making that bet with Hao.

But what was done was done; she sure as Hell was not going to give in to Hao. In the end, the least she could do was just to lie to him or something, and tell him that Yoh was just thinking about sleeping or something. She knew that Hao would never fall for something as lame as that, but that was only to be used if she was really desperate or something. She took in a deep breath and stepped into the library, only to come face-to-face with Pirika, who smiled at her.

" Good afternoon, Anna." She said, brightly before walking off.

Anna nodded at her as she walked past. She guessed she couldn't read Pirika's thoughts because she had just spoken to her at that moment. That was what Hao told her, right?

' _Hey isn't that Anna Kyoyuma? Damn she's fine.'_

' _It's that bitch. The world doesn't revolve around her, just so she knows.'_

' _Whoo, what a dish.'_

About a dozen of different thoughts started to flood through her head before she noticed Yoh sitting in a glass cubicle by himself, reading the book in his hands. She smiled softly and walked past the bunch of perverts who was picturing images of her and them in their minds which she was still desperately trying to shake off. She entered, and slammed the door shut behind her, disgusted. Yoh jumped and looked up at her.

' _Hello, Anna.'_

" Hello Anna." He said.

She gave him a sheepish smile and sat down next to him. " What book are you reading?" she asked, lifting it off the table from him hands slightly so she could look at the cover. She raised her eyebrows as she saw what it was. " Sleeping for dummies?" she asked, sounding exasperated.

He giggled nervously.

" I just wanted to know what they would put inside, that's all." He said.

She accepted his answer and started to take out the homework from her bag.

' _She just seems to get more and more beautiful every day.' _She heard him think.

A blush grazed her cheeks, but she hid it well under the book that covered her face. At least that proves that he doesn't think perverted thoughts about me, she thought to herself, sighing gratefully.

' _God, I want to kiss her. Why won't she let me?' _he thought, and her eyes widened, looking at him in surprise.

' _What did I do wrong now?' _he thought, sounding worried.

" Is something wrong. Anna?" he asked.

She wanted to laugh. Was he really **that **afraid of her? Or did he just not want to see her upset? She was not sure on which one would give her more pleasure. She bit her lip and shook her head and went back to her homework.

' _Thank God she's not angry. I almost thought she was going to slap me again. She's going to make her deaf someday, I just know it.' _

Her lips twitched.

' _It's weird, in any case. Her coldness used to make me draw away from her or to just be scared of her. God knows how many times she has made me cry. But somehow, I think that her slaps and coldness arouses me slightly. . .'_

She would have slapped him if she were not in that much of shock.

' _Damn she looks beautiful in everything. Anything. Be it to be a formal, black dress to that white sleeveless shirt of hers followed by those tight jeans. Of course, I wouldn't mind it without those, anyway. . .'_

" Have you finished your mathematics yet, Yoh?" she asked loudly, and he jumped. Hao never made any rules on forcing him to think of other thoughts that were not sexual. She was lucky that he was a straightforward person, and never stuffed in excess rules to the situation.

" No, not yet." He said meekly.

' _Yeah, that's right. I don't think I've done my maths yet. I guess I'll just have to ask Ren to help me. He was always good in studies anyway. I'd better not let Anna find out though, she's so damn sharp at everything. I think that even. . .hey, is that her bra that's peeking out of her shoulder?'_

Her face turned beet red, and realized that her shirt was not properly buttoned up.

Swiftly, she tugged her shirt upwards, hiding her bra from view.

' _Damn.' _She heard him curse.

Well, this was a surprise to her. And to think that she thought that he never paid attention to her. Every thought in his mind would eventually end up being about her. As much as she felt honoured and flattered, it also worried her. She had to think of a way to keep his mind off her, something that she was surprised that she wanted to do.

' _Man, her body's incredible from this distance, even with her clothes on. I wonder what she'll be like without them? Horo Horo says she's 'C', which is just perfect to me. It's nowhere near Tao Jun, but Anna's body is still shaped to perfection. The dreams I had about her were great, she was just so beautiful in them. . ..'_

She rolled her eyes as he sat there dreamily for a moment.

' _Why won't she sleep with me? Is she really that disgusted with me?'_

" No." she said involuntarily, and slapped herself mentally after that.

" What?" he asked, confused.

" Never mind." She said, shaking her head, pretending to be engrossed with the book in her hands.

' _I wonder what Anna just said. . .never mind with that. I mean, oh crap, I dropped my pencil. . .'_

He bent down, groaning, and she just rolled her eyes.

' _Oh Holy shit, is Anna wearing a thong today? And is it red?'_

She blushed to the roots of her skin. She remembered that Tao Jun gave her a pair for some reason, and she had decided to try it on just for one day. " Yoh, what's taking you so long?" she snapped, trying to sound nonchalant, crossing her legs.

' _Damn.' _She heard him curse, submerging from under the table, the sheepish smile on his face again. _' God, that sure turned me on. Since when did Anna wear such underwear like that? I do the laundry all the time and I never saw those in there before.'_

All she wanted to do was to slap Yoh now.

Never did she think that he was this pervertic.

But then again, she also conveniently forgot that he was an eighteen year old man with growing hormones.

' _Her skin is so milky white. . .to feel them with my hands would be fantastic. Horo Horo told me that quiet girls would be minxes in bed. Damn, I'm actually glad that Anna's so silent at the moment. . .'_

She sighed. Okay, she lost the bet.

' _But I still can't believe that she forgot that my birthday was today. . .' _he thought.

Her eyes widened.

What. . .?

' _Might as well ask her. . .' _he thought, taking a deep breath.

"Anna," he said, pausing for a moment.

When he received no reply, he looked up. " Did you remember that it's my birthday today?" he asked her, trying to sound nonchalant.

Her mouth opened and shut.

Well, she received three shocks in total today.

First, was that Hao had no first kiss before.

Second, was that Yoh actually had sexual thoughts about her.

Third, was. . .

" Today's. . .you're birthday?" she whispered, letting the words slip past her defenses.

His eyes widened.

' _So. . .she forgot.'_

He smiled forcefully. " Yeah." He said. " But it's okay. I wasn't expecting much anyway."

" Yoh. . ." she started hesitatingly.

" Really, it's okay!" he said cheerfully, but Anna saw right through his pathetic act. " Pirika told me that you never really memorized dates before, so. . .it's not your fault anyway."

She bit her lip.

She actually wanted Yoh to shout at her.

She actually did.

She actually still wanted to be angry at Yoh for thinking perverted thoughts about her.

' _And I thought I was important enough to her for her to remember my birthday. . .' _he thought.

And Anna heard every word.

" Yoh." She said, and he looked up.

" I'm sorry." She said.

He smiled. " What are you apologizing for?" he asked her.

He got up, taking his things. " I just remembered, I'm supposed to meet Lyserg today for something. I guess I'll see you later."

" I'll follow you." She said.

He hesitated.

' _I'll go alone, thank you.' _He said in his head, in a voice so harsh thather eyes widened.

" It's okay." He said. " I'll go myself. I'll see you at the party tonight? That's if you can make it. . ."

She forced a smile. " I'll try." She said.

' _Try.'_

He nodded and walked off, the door of the cubicle hanging open.

' _That bitch. . .I can't believe she forgot Yoh's birthday. . .' _she could hear someone think.

' _I remembered. . .And I'm not even his fiancée.'_

' _Does she care for him at all?'_

' _I guess Yoh just found out that Anna couldn't care less about him.'_

' _She's lucky she's hot, or I would have beaten her up long ago.'_

' _Bitch.'_

' _Skank.'_

' _Heartless piece of. . .'_

She glared at them as forcefully as she could, and slammed the door as loudly as she could, and marched towards the door. What did they know? She cared for Yoh above anyone else in this world. And yet. . .

Her eyes were filled with unknown tears and she rubbed them away.

What was she crying for?

It wasn't her fault that she forgot right. . .?

Damn, what a pathetic liar she was.

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Hao pressed the lit cigarette against his lips, inhaled and blew.

He smirked to himself.

" Giving her the ability to read his mind would let her know that he's depressed that she forgot her birthday. I can't believe that Anna fell for that trap so easily." He muttered, chuckling to himself. " If this goes on, I can get the two of them together in no time at all."

He stopped for a moment, looking up at the sky above.

Rain started to splatter on his face, and he sighed.

_Is getting the two of them together what I really want? _

He let out a sad laugh before taking a step into the shade.

There was no use in thinking useless thoughts.

Might as well make use of the time alone he had to get Yoh's present ready. And to be found by Anna so he could deal the debt with her.

" So many things to do, so little time." He muttered under his breath, hopping across a puddle of water, and made his way up the steps. What made him fall in love with Anna in the first place anyway? He thought to himself, tossing the lighter into the ground, watching it turn soggy by the sudden downpour of the rain.

Was it because she was gentle?

No, that was utter rubbish.

Because she was beautiful?

Yes, that was true, but he that alone could make him fall in love.

Because she had a great body?

Around the same answer as the one above.

Was it because she was sweet?

He paused.

_" That can't be good." Hao remembered himself saying, shivering at the thought. He bit into the peach and pursed his lips. " Damn, this peach is sour."_

_" Want a different one?" Yoh had offered._

_" I'm alright." Hao answered, taking another bite. " Usually the sour ones are sweet in the core."_

_" Says who?" Yoh said witheringly, taking a peach himself and bit into it._

_" Me." Hao said. " Or maybe it's just that the inside is less sour than the outside, so it seems sweeter."_

He just stayed at his spot for a moment before smiling.

" Man, I'm such a lovesick idiot." He muttered, before setting foot again.

And the rain continued to fall.

Which now not only came from the sky.

END CHAPTER 11

The flashback that I put just a couple of paragraphs above this was what I wrote in chapter 2 of this story, when Yoh and Hao were talking. I hope you all still remember that scenes. Chapter 11 will have some sort of a lemon, I think. What's Hao's plan now? Please read and review and continue to check out this story!

**ReWiEw ReSpOnSeS**

_azimataiji__- - -You mean, twist, right? Thanks for the review!_

_devious-chan__- - -You're welcome. And thanks for the compliment, I'm blushing to the roots of my skin right now. Lolz._

_hannami08__- - -Aw, no computer for a week must suck. Welcome back, in any case! Thanks for the review!_

_YumeTakato__- - -Thanks._

_Exploded toilet bowl__- - -Wow, that's a weird review. Let me think about that. . .Hao comes back one day. This beautiful toilet bowl is sitting on his bed. He gets happy and sits on it. The toilet bowl talks to him and he gets really freaked out so he flushed it, but as soon as he does, it. . .EXPLODES! Hmm, that won't be very serious would it? Lolz. Sorry if this offended you. It just amused me at the thought. _

_Distantdreamer- - -Lolz, thank you. Yes, Anna can be nice too, you know._

_Hakono- - -Eh? How do I answer that question? Hmm. . ._

_Lale- - -Thanks!_

_Flay- - -Hehe.. . . .Glad I made him smooth, I was afraid I would screw up._

_candee__- - -Mm. Yeah, as many people say, she's lucky she's hot. Lolz._

_hannah-asakura__- - -Haha, well happy birthday to you! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!_

_bluemoon88__- - -Thanks a lot! Glad you enjoyed it!_

_Iria- - -sheepish grin_

_Nikki09__- - -Well, I hope this satisfies you._

_Miakoda13__- - -Haha, that's a possibility, but honestly speaking, that never crossed my mind._

_EmeraldSeaSerpent__- - -Haha. You're the first person who seems to dislike the Hao/Anna scene. Never mind then. Please continue to read and review!_

_pendulumxswing__- - -Broad grin Thanks._

_Orphen27- - -Thank you, I will try. I'm glad Ren was smooth enough for your tastes._

_b0bo-the-sword__- - -Thanks!_

_Peacemaker- - -Will try to speed up with chapter 12._

_Suki-rin__- - -Yep, she didn't. Go figure._

_Felix-samma__- - -I hope that was 'genius'. . .Thanks for the compliment, in any case. Laughs_

_Anime master Inu__- - -Haha, thanks. Yeah, Yoda rocks my socks. Too bad he got coward in front of Darth Sidious though. Sad that he lost, I am. Continue this story, I will. Lolz._

_BabyKaoru-Sama__- - -Thanks. I thought I made Anna OOC the way she handled the situation with the tapes. Glad you liked it, in any case._

_blackyuki__- - -Mm. You can bet on that._

_Frank S__- - -Yeah, even I'm slightly surprised too. _


	12. The Plot Deepens

So sorry to say this to all of you, but it's banned to reply to reviews from now on. . .which I think is a pretty weird thing to do, but whatever makes the webmasters happy I guess. If you really have very important questions or suggestions you want me to answer or reply, just send it to my e-mail, and I'll try to answer you as soon as possible. This is chapter 12 everyone! I know that's a stupid thing to say, as you all can probably just see it for yourself, but. . .it's a thought, right? I sincerely hope that F. will allow us to answer reviews once more. But until then, it's just going to be a blank spot from now on. (Sighs. . .) Okay, enough with that. Please read and review this chapter everyone!

By The Way: For those people who told me that Anna could hear the thoughts of other people's minds. . .I just want to clear the fact out that I DO now that fact, and that in the comic book volume 23, when Anna was talking to Manta, she explained to him that she was no longer able to hear the thoughts of other people after Yoh killed the "demon" within her. Lolz. But thanks for telling me that, though. Shows that you actually pay attention to the points in my story.

**WARNING: SLIGHT LEMON CONTENT IN THIS CHAPTER.**

CHAPTER 12

" So. . .she forgot your birthday." Ryu said.

" And I thought Hao was the only one who could read my mind." Yoh said, sighing as he removed his shoes and placed them on the doormat of his house.

" Oh, there was no need for the reading of minds, master." Ryu said lightly, removing his shoes too and stepped in after him. " It was practically written all over your face."

When all he received was a sheepish smile, Ryu walked into the kitchen and began to cook. " We're having your birthday party in the house, is that not right?" Ryu called out to Yoh, who was lazing around the balcony of the house. He called out the same question once more, slightly louder this time so that he could be heard over the busy sounds he was making in the kitchen.

" I don't know." Yoh said simply. " Whatever."

Ryu frowned but said nothing more. His master had been really silent and isolated the last few days for that one reason. Even though it was just Anna forgetting his birthday, there was no reason to get all bent out of shape about it. But he knew he had no right to say anything to him, because he was the one who attempted to commit suicide when Lyserg decided to join the X-Laws. He sighed and dropped several sweet potatoes into the wok of water. His head peeked itself out of the kitchen about a fraction of an inch to peer at his usually cheerful master. But he was just lazing around as usual. Ryu let out another sigh. Oh well. The only thing that could cheer Yoh up was Anna.

His eyes widened.

Then he smiled.

Wait a minute. . .

He might just have the perfect solution.

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Anna dried the last of her tears and was about to leave the school gates, umbrella in hand, when she was stopped by a none too familiar person. At first she thought it was Yoh, everything about him was so uncannily alike to his real frame, until she noticed that casual smirk toying on his lips. She sighed and stood in as defiant a pose as possible, her eyebrows knitted together. " What do you want, Hao?" she asked.

" Oh my, all the hostility." He said, grinning. " I just came here to ask you about how the whole thing with my dear brother went."

She felt tears welling up in her eyes again at the mere thought of Yoh again.

' _Oh my God, is she going to cry?' _she could hear Hao think, in a voice so concerned and sweet that it scared her, and her eyes looked up to meet him, but the smirk was still playing on his lips. ' Did I just imagine that?' she thought to herself, glaring at Hao once more, and decided that she must have been hearing things. Not from him, anyway. " It didn't go as well as I imagined. . ." she started slowly. Then her hand whipped out and slapped him across the cheek, he stepped back, appalled, his hand immediately reaching out to cup his cheek.

" What was that for?" he asked in indignation.

" Why didn't you tell me if was his birthday?" she asked.

" Happy birthday, Hao." Several giggling girls whispered to him before running off, laughing even louder at that. Anna raised her eyebrows and sighed.

" And yours." She said, rolling her eyes.

" It was not my fault that you didn't even remember your own fiancee's birthday, Anna." He said, still rubbing his sore cheek.

" I. . .I don't remember anyone's birthday." She muttered, flushing slightly.

" Not even mine?" he asked coyly.

" Don't try to be cute." She said warningly. " Or I'll do your other cheek in."

" In any case, Yoh's mind is not as clean as you would like to put it to be, am I not wrong?' he asked, lifting a cigarette to his lips. When he received no reply to this, he lighted it and inhaled. He pulled it out of his mouth, and breathed out of his lungs. " You owe me something, Anna." He said.

She sighed and looked up at him.

" Yes," she said in resignation. " What do you want?"

' _I want you to kiss me.' _

Her eyes widened.

His first kiss. . .?

But instead Hao just smiled. " I want you to kiss Yoh." He said, grinning broadly. " And buy him something for his birthday present and be back in time for his party."

She just stared at him for a moment. Did she just. . .hear his thoughts again? Was he really more than just a person who she really thought he was? He blinked at her reaction.

' _Shit!' _she heard him think frantically. _' Can she still read my mind?'_

" What's the matter?" he asked jauntily.

" N. . .Nothing. I just didn't think you would say that." She lied.

' _Oh. Thank God.'_

" Oh." He said, sounding relieved. " Okay then, I guess I'll see you later. Be back home by seven alright? Don't upset Yoh even more."

She bit her lip and nodded. " Yeah." She said.

He just smiled and walked off.

And she watched him leave.

Until he disappeared behind the gates of the school then she leaned against the wall behind her and sighed. " What can I get for Yoh for his birthday?" she asked herself. Then her eyes followed to the area where Hao once stood before sighing. " Yes, and for Hao too." She added in resignation.

And she never knew how happy she would make the both of them if they were there beside her.

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It was six thirty.

Ryu grinned as Lyserg walked through the front door of Yoh's house. " Glad that you could make it!" he said to him cheerfully. He nodded rather gruffly at Marco who entered soon after, lugging the Iron Maiden in his hands. " You didn't have to lock Miss Jeanne up for a party too, you know." He said, rolling his eyes. Marco just shrugged, walking into the living room where the others were. Apparently nobody cared that the party only started at seven, and had arrived earlier. Much earlier, to be in fact. Not to state the obvious, Horo Horo and Pirika were there. Ren and Jun were there. Tamao and Yoh's parents and grandparents were there. To cut long things short, almost everyone that Yoh had lost to, won or met before was inside his house. In fact there was so much people that some had to just sit outside the lawn.

Well, almost everyone.

Yoh looked outside at dark roads leading to his house worriedly, looking at his watch. It was almost seven already, where was Anna? He was sure that she would at least return home early as a way of apologizing to him. He chewed on his bottom lip nervously, stamping his foot on the ground impatiently. Behind him, Ren watched him with a frown.

" Why don't you go look for her on Yoh's behalf?" Jun asked her brother sweetly into his ear, causing him to spit out the milk that was in his mouth.

" Don't be stupid, nee-san!" Ren snapped, wiping the milk off his face. " Why the Hell would I do that? I don't even care! What would you do if I don't? I mean. . ."

He stopped in mid-sentence at that smile she had on her face and he sighed.

" Okay." He sighed, and hopped off his chair. " But you owe me one."

Jun just smiled.

He scowled as he grabbed his coat and made his way to the door. " I can't believe that she can make me do anything she wants me to do as long as she smiles. . ." he grumbled, wrenching open the door. Then he froze at the sight of a panting Anna, clutching her chest as she stood by the door. A blush appeared on his cheeks as he just stared at her. God, she was just simply beautiful. . .

" Am I late?" she wheezed out.

" Do you have morning sickness?" he asked back, his lips twitching.

Apparently she didn't take too much care for his joke, and walked past him, two tight slaps sporting his cheeks. She walked over to Hao, who had his arm around some giggling girl. He noticed her looking down at him, and looked up, smiling. " Good evening." He said good-naturedly. " Enjoying the party?"

" Follow me." She said curtly, making her way towards the kitchen.

He looked at the girl beside him, shrugged and removed his arm from her shoulder and followed Anna. He waited patiently as she shut the door behind her, and leaned against the wall behind her, looking at him thoughtfully. ' I can't read his thoughts anymore. . .' she thought to herself. ' A real pity at that too, I would simply love to hear his thoughts right now. . .but forget it.' She cleared her throat and he cocked his head.

She reached into her pocket and tossed a package into his arms, in which he caught it. He raised his eyebrows at it and looked up at her, seemingly confused. " You want me to pass this to Yoh for you?" he asked. " Seriously, if that's so, you might as well not come at all, because. . ."

" Shut up, wiseass." She snapped. " It's for you."

His eyes widened and he stood erected in his pose for a moment.

" For. . .me?" he whispered.

" Yeah." She said, blushing slightly. " You're my child's godfather, in any case."

His mouth widened before his face split into a grin.

" Gee, thank you." He said softly. " I don't know what to say."

" You could say thank you." She snapped, opening the door to the living room. " Happy birthday, in any case."

She flung it open, and came face-to-face with Yoh.

He looked bored at first before he grinned at her. " Anna!" he said cheerfully. " You actually came!"

Anna raised her eyebrows. " You don't have to seem so surprised." She said.

" Well, I am." He said, his hand raising up to caress her cheek softly. " I'm glad that you came."

There was silence that befell the two of them, each of them staring into each other's eyes until they were interrupted by an uncomfortable cough behind them. Yoh turned and smiled at his brother. " And I'm glad you came too, my dear brother."

" It's not that. . ." Hao said, sounding exasperated before he just shrugged. " But scratch that. I'm going to bonk some unknown girl if you two don't mind." He walked past Yoh, but he stood right behind Anna for a brief moment to whisper, " Remember what you have to do." He whispered.

She bit her lip.

He left, leaving the two of them alone in the room.

Anna looked up at him doubtfully, fidgeting with her dress uncomfortably. " Hey, Yoh. . ." she started slowly, and he turned around to face her. " I'm sorry that. . .I forgot your birthday."

He laughed. " Forget about it." He said.

" Oh, would you stop being so God damn forgiving?" she snapped angrily, and the smile faded from his face. " Look. . ." she said slowly. " Here's your birthday present."

His eyes widened and accepted the box from her.

" For. . .me?" he asked.

" Yeah." She said, blushing. " H. . .Happy birthday."

He smiled at her fondly, catching her hands in his, and she looked up at him, eyes wide.

" Thank you." He whispered.

" Y. . .You're welcome." She muttered.

Damn, how was she supposed to kiss him at a time like this?

Yoh coughed uncomfortably, and handed a drink into Anna's hands, who accepted it with raised eyebrows. " Ryu asked me to give it to you to try." He said, grinning like a schoolboy on high. " He said it was a new recipe for a drink and wanted me to give it to you when I saw you."

Behind Ryu grinned, acting like he was talking to Tokagero, who was grinning at the two of them two, and the two of them grinned at each other toothily as Anna started to drink it. " I didn't think that the two of them would be alone for that." Ryu said, rubbing his chin. " At least that shows that Anna would fall for Yoh much easily."

" You're a genius." Tokagero said, giggling. " I can't believe you learned how to do Hao's voodoo trick."

" No, I didn't actually. But his tiny friend heard my story about Yoh being pitiful and he gave me a small love potion pill, which had the same effects of Hao's voodoo thing." Ryu said, turning his back to the two of them. " Well, we'd better go. Just in case Anna pounces on Yoh or something."

Hao watched Ryu in the corner of his eye and laughed.

" And I was planning for Horo Horo to do that. . ." he said to Opacho, who giggled and shrugged. " But it worked out in the end anyway. Good work, Opacho." He muttered, lifting the drink to his lips.

" Yes, Hao-sama." Opacho said, but not before winking at Ryu, who winked back.

Hao smiled. " If this works. . ." he muttered. " That shows that Anna at least has some feelings for Yoh."

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Anna placed the drink on the table, stepping backwards slightly. Her head felt heavy all of a sudden, and she leaned against the table next to her for comfort. Yoh stepped up to her in concern, his hand on her shoulder. " Anna?" he asked huskily. " Are you alright? Are you sick?"

Was it just her or did he just sound so incredibly lustful just now?

" I. . .I'm fine." She muttered, her eyes looking up to meet his. He smiled back, and her heart hammered against her chest.

" I'll see you later, okay?" he said, running off to welcome more guests into the living room.

_Anna could feel Yoh's hands all over her, and she let out a startled gasp as his fingers delved themselves into the place that she kept secret to him for so long._

" Anna?" Yoh asked, and she jumped.

" Y. . .Yeah?" she stammered.

" Are you sure you're okay?" he asked.

" I'm fine." She muttered.

' What the Hell was that?' she asked herself, tugging her dress tightly.

" Yoh. . ." she said, rather drunkedly.

" Yes?" he asked, sounding doubtful.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, her lips pressing hard against his. He let out a startled gasp as he was pushed back against the wall behind him. Her leg slid up his thy, her tongue entering his mouth hungrily, earning a moan from him, his tongue attacking hers back ferociously. Her hands pressed against his chest, marveling on how muscular he had become over the years. God, all she wanted to do at the moment was to just rip his clothes off and join him as one. But she pulled away, licking her lips, smiling at him coyly.

" Anna. . ." he breathed.

" Happy birthday." She giggled. " Now go out."

He frowned but walked off, leaving her standing there alone.

She rubbed her head.

" God, I'm drunk." She muttered.

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Ryu was drinking the cocktail in his hands, watching Jeanne dance in the middle of many lustful looking boys, Lyserg laughing in a corner, clapping along, Marco fingering his gun angrily. He let out a smirk and downed his drink in one gulp before placing it on the table. He raised his eyebrows as he noticed Anna resting her head against her palm, muttering something, her knees pressed tightly together.

He smiled to himself.

" If Yoh wasn't my master. . ." Ryu muttered, getting to his feet, only to shut the door that Anna was in.

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" _Oh my God, Yoh. . ."_

_Anna felt like she was going to burst up in flames; every part of her body was burning with the sweet intensity of Yoh's touch. She wrapped her legs around his waist, moaning out loud as he bit into her neck. He was smirking at her coyly, and she scowled at him. Trust him to be so glad to gain control over her for once. _

" _Yoh," she growled. " If you do that once more, I will personally. . ."_

" _I know," he said, ripping her shirt off, pushing her hands out of the sleeves. " You're going to double the amount of my weights. . ."_

_He ripped open her bra and licked her swollen nipples, enjoying the feel of her struggling underneath of him. " Make me run twice the length you asked me to. . ."_

_His fingers pushed down her silk white panties, his fingers forcing themselves into her tight entrance at one go, grinning as she screamed out loud. " And triple the amount of push-ups due."_

" _Not. . .to. . .mention. . .sit-ups. . ." she gasped out loud, struggling in vain to gain control._

_He grinned at her his thumb entering her now and she came at that moment, screaming at the top of her lungs like she would have never known before. . . _

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Her eyes snapped open, and found out that she was stopped in the middle of her apparent trance by an embarrassed Ryu, who had shut the door behind him, grinning at her sheepishly. She didn't even bother to glare at him, but pressed her hands against her chest tightly. What the Hell. . .was that? She wiped the sweat from her face, completely aware of the sweat beads forming on her face. And to think she had slapped Yoh for thinking pervertic thoughts. What would she do to herself if she was looking from another point of view? Heaven forbid what she would do. Not that that minded now, because she was obviously herself, but that was besides the point. . .

Her train of thought was stopped abruptly by Ren, who had knocked on the door quickly before entering. His eyes didn't meet hers, but walked straight past her to get plates from one of the drawers inside the kitchen she was in when he noticed that they were nowhere in sight. He looked at her questioningly.

" Third drawer to the left." She replied lazily.

" Knew that." He muttered, rushing off to get it.

She watched him bundled up plates in his hands thoughtfully for a moment before speaking up. " Hey Ren, can I ask you a question?" she asked, and he turned around, eyebrows raised questioningly. " Would you call a girl a skank for thinking perverted thoughts?"

He blushed rather furiously at that, but she just folded her arms across her chest and waited for his question. She was one that knew absolutely nothing about the embarrassment of boys, and even more of what would make them embarrassed. Plus, she trusted Ren more than anyone in the world besides Yoh. Probably because he seemed so trustable.

" It depends on how old she is." He said, blushing.

" Does that matter?" she asked, cocking a brow.

" Well. . .I guess it would." He spluttered.

" In what context?" she asked.

" I. . .I guess it depends on the age of puberty." He said, blushing even more furiously now.

She blinked.

" And what would that be?"

" It. . .erm. . .I. . ." Ren spluttered, but it was at that moment when Pirika entered the room, giggling furiously, a man with his hand around her waist, grinning from ear to ear. Anna raised her eyebrows as she noticed Ren's blush quickly disappear, his hands clenched into fists, his eyebrows knitted together, his lips snapped against each other tightly. Pirika noticed the two of them and sobered quickly.

" Oh, sorry. . .I didn't know there was anyone in here." She said, apologizing.

Ren glared at the two of them before walking out, shuffling fast Pirika. She looked at him, confused, before looking questioningly at Anna. Anna just smirked and shrugged, making her way up the stairs to the showers. Horo Horo met her on the way. " Where are you going?" he asked. " The party's in the other direction."

" I know **that**," she said, rolling her eyes. " I just wanted to take a shower."

" Okay." He said, before stopping in mid-step. He watched her leave, shutting the door behind her. He blinked and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. " Is that so. . ." he muttered.

" You horny little monkey." Came a silky voice from behind, and Horo could almost feel the grin on the person's face. He turned around and the relief in his body was almost audible as he saw Hao standing before him. " Oh, it's only you." Horo said, leaning against the wall behind him.

" Is that an insult I hear?" Hao said, leaning against the wall beside him.

" Depends on what you would prefer to hear." Horo answered.

They stayed silent for a moment.

" So you were planning to peek on Anna showering?" Hao asked, lips twitching.

Horo sighed. " God, your skills to read minds sure is irritating." He muttered.

" Yeah, I hear that from time to time." Hao said, laughing. " However, that's what makes me the sex God that I am now." Horo laughed along with him. They stayed silent again. " So were you really planning to go inside the shower room to watch her or what?" Hao asked suddenly.

" I was just. . .thinking." Horo mumbled. " Not that I would do it, anyway."

" And why not?" Hao asked.

" Obvious reason!" Horo snapped. " She's Yoh's fiancée."

" That's another point altogether." Hao said, shrugging. " If you hit on her or had sex with her. . .THAT would be a horrible crime. But what's wrong with peeking on them on the shower anyway?"

Horo's eyebrows rose at the sudden thought of Hao's theory.

" I guess that's right." Horo said slowly. Then he shook his head, blushing. " But that's besides the point." He said. " What the Hell are you giving me more ideas to peek on Anna?"

" I was just telling you the right of a man to peek on any woman he wanted." Hao said, shrugging his shoulders. Horo raised his eyebrows at Hao. Hao smiled back. Then Horo grinned and patted Hao's shoulder.

" Whatever works for you works for me." He said, grinning. " Don't wait up."

" Speaking of which. . ." Hao said slowly, and Horo stopped and turned around. " Can I come with you?"

Horo's eyes widened. " Why?" he asked.

Hao shrugged. " I don't know." He said casually. " I want to see if Anna's body looks good that's all. And. . .I'm not much of a voyeur."

" **Hey**." Horo said, pointing his finger at Hao warningly. " It's not voyeurism, it's called, **beauty of art."**

" Is that so?" Hao said, his lips twitching. " In that case, Ryu just so happens to be showering in the opposite room."

" Fine, you win." Horo said wearily. " You want to come or not?"

" Sure." Hao said, following in Horo's fast footsteps. In a corner, Ren sat there, watching Pirika dance with some dark-haired, handsome man sulkily. He glared at the man as he winked at him and looked away. His eyes finally lay upon Horo and Hao, who were walking off into some distant room. It was nothing much, Ren didn't mind too much about that. But it was the look on Hao's face; a strange reckoning, that made him finally came to an obvious and precise point.

" Horo Horo's going to get himself killed." Ren muttered, sighing.

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" This is where you peek on girls?" Hao asked witheringly. Horo smirked at him as he opened the cupboard and started removing the many pieces of clothings that were found inside. " It's called cleverness in the work, my friend." Horo said, feeling around the wall carefully, his fingers tapping around. " Not everyone can score with every single pretty girl they see. . .they're not you or Ren, you know."

" Why thank you, that's really nice of you to say." Hao said, grinning broadly.

" You're quite welcome." Horo said, bowing lightly. " Okay. . .I found it. Now get here, luckily I drilled three holes in here. I guess there will be an empty space next to us."

" Fantastic." Hao said. " Is there any way we could get caught?"

" Yeah, of course." Horo said. " If she looks really closely into the mirror."

Hao thought for a moment before smiling. " That's good to know."

Horo raised his eyebrows, and would have questioned him if it were not for the two of them jamming their eyes into the two separate holes which saw right into the shower room. But what they saw was not a very, very, **very **naked Anna showering, but they saw her sitting on the ground, cross-legged, the beads she wore around her neck at a circle at her feet, her lips continuously muttering something.

" What's she doing?" Horo muttered, sounding disappointed. " What's she doing with her clothes on?"

" So it seems like she found out about Ryu's spell on her." Hao said, trying his best to sound to sound nonchalant, but couldn't stop a small bit of disappointment from tinging on his voice. " Now she's cleansing it off her. I have to admit, for someone her age to wear off my spell, it's very impressive indeed."

" So. . .how long will it take?" Horo asked wearily.

" For someone her age it would take days. . .but of course, her powers are extreme, it would probably take twenty minutes or two." He added quickly at the look on Horo's face. " Look, she's done now."

Anna had got up, and in her hands was the pill. She looked at it, disgusted, before throwing it on the ground and smashed it to pieces with her foot. " I'm going to personally MURDER Ryu and Yoh when I see them." She growled, taking another slam on the ground with her foot. Horo and Hao shivered.

" Now, I wonder who would dominate in bed, Yoh or Anna?" Horo asked, lips twitching.

" Come to think of it. . ." Hao said, rubbing his chin. " I wonder what present she got for me?''

" What did she get for Yoh?" Horo asked at that.

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Yoh opened his package silently, after looking around to make sure that there was nobody around him looking. Well, except for an excited Amidamaru. " What do you think it is? Yoh-donno?" he asked, jumping on the balls of his feet. " Anna-san never gave anything to anyone before!"

" Besides embarrassingly small uniforms, anyway." Yoh said, rolling his eyes. He opened the small box and pulled the top open, and his eyes widened. Amidamaru peered over his shoulder, patting Yoh constantly on his shoulders. " What is it, Yoh-donno? What is it?"

" It's. . .a necklace." Yoh said, raising his eyebrows at the sight of it, picking it up in his fingers. It was silver in the lining, but there was small stub found at the end, that was engraved in gold: " Yoh". He smiled fondly to himself and looked at it appreciatively when he noticed something found on the other side of the stub, able to be seen only in the dim light: " I'm sorry."

He smiled to himself.

" Yeah." He whispered, putting it over his neck " I love you too."

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Anna got up to her feet, brushing her knees rather deftly, and looked at the sauna around her. She seemed to ponder on it for a moment, looking at the area around her. " Stay. . .stay, damn it, stay. . ." Horo Horo whispered, chanting in a low voice softly. Hao rolled his eyes, but his fingers were secretly twisted in his pockets. Anna just shrugged and started to make her way out of the room, getting her beads which were on the floor. The disappointment between the two boys was almost audible, but they were saved from being found out as Pirika and Tamao and Tao Jun entered the room, towels on their shoulders. Anna stopped in mid-step, raising her eyebrows at them.

" Hello." She said to them.

" Evening." Tao Jun said cheerfully. " We were planning on having a quick shower. Care to join us?"

" Oh, damn. . .stay." Horo whispered, his hands clasped together.

" Alright then." Anna said, smiling softly. " I was in the mood for a shower anyway."

" Really?" Hao asked himself.

Horo laughed gleefully. " Nothing could get better than this." He said.

The girls got their fingers on their clothes, starting to remove the buttons.

" It just did." Hao said, smirking. " Okay, let's do something. Want to rate them by ass, bust and legs?"

" Whatever that has something to do with looking at them." Horo said gleefully.

But Hao's eyes were solely on Anna, who was slowly unzipping her dress, pulling the sleeves off her shoulders. Hao 's eyes were pressing deeper and deeper into the hole, and he let out a startled gasp as she flicked off her dress, handing in a pool at her feet. Even Horo's eyes were practically bulging out of its sockets. Anna was wearing a black bra and underwear, which clung on tightly to her body.

" Anna's. . .beautiful." Hao whispered.

" Yeah." Horo gulped. " I don't know whether to envy Yoh or to feel sorry for him."

" She has fantastic legs, I have to say." Horo said, rubbing his chin. " God knows where she has been hiding those. . .her ass if small and firm. . .breasts. . .oh my, are those a 34 C?"

" Very nice guesswork." Hao said, nodding at him in approval.

" God. . .she's beautiful." Horo muttered. " Oh, Ren's sister's body is fantastic. You wouldn't even have to take a second glance. . .Tamao is lookable I guess, and. . ."

His face had turned an ashen pale and Hao seemed to know why.

" Just look away, Horo." Hao muttered. " It's only your naked sister, after all."

" AHHH!" Horo yelled, shutting his eyes with his hands. " MY EYES! MY EYES!"

The girls seemed to snap to attention and Hao smirked.

" Good luck, Horo." He whispered to himself before vanishing into thin air.

" Hao. . .?" Horo whispered, opening his eyes once again before they widened to the sizes of saucers.

" Guess again." Came a curt voice.

There stood Anna, Tamao, Pirika and Tao Jun, wearing towels, hands on their hips. Anna held the mirror in her fingers idily. " That's a really good trick." She whispered to herself, a look of disgust on her face. But it was nothing compared to the look on Pirika's face. " Who else was in here with you?" she asked.

" Hao was here." Horo said fearfully.

Anna smirked. " Trust Hao to come up with something so original." She muttered. " I'll deal with him later myself."

Horo knew that he had to apologize to Hao later on.

But in a way, he was happy that he was not going to be the only one in pain.

But then again, the anger they would feel for Hao would probably wear off after they were done with Horo Horo.

But then once again, Hao was smooth so he might get out of it.

But then twice again. . .he was the one backed up against the wall with nowhere to hide, with four girls with very different expressions on their faces. Pirika was looking tearful, Tamao was looking remotely abashed, Tao Jun looked slightly amused, but there was something about that look on her face that he did not like. And Anna was. . .

" Nice seeing you again, Horo." Anna said, her voice laced with sarcasm, her hand raised, and before Horo knew it her hand had crossed his cheek, and he was on the ground once more.

Outside, Hao winced as he heard the slap.

" That's gotta hurt." He said to himself. He pushed the cigarette and wedged it between his lips, and lit it. He blew out of it softly and smiled to himself. " But everything has to go according to plan, doesn't it?"

END CHAPTER 12

The end of this chapter folks! Sorry for the slight lack in lemony stuff in this one, so excuse me if you were looking forward to it. It appears that I had to branch out Hao's plan longer than I expected. Thanks for the reviews! A pity that I can't answer your question anymore. . .but at least I did once at the top of the story. . .in any case, keep reading this story! What's Anna's present for Hao? Thought about that? Who's Horo Horo's crush? Will Ren end up with Pirika? Will Ryu and Yoh get beat up by Anna? Find out all the secrets in the following chapters to come!

**SPOILER: **Yoh's going to get angry at Anna rather soon. VERY angry. Maybe in the next chapter, or maybe in the next next. . .sorry for the bad English. But when he does, that's going to be the point of the climax, yeah?

**SPOILER 2: **Yoh and Anna might be "getting it on" in the next chapter. Whether that's a good thing or not.


	13. Birthday Presents

Chapter 13 everyone! Sorry I took so long to post this up, I was busy for the past few days. My grandfather was sent to hospital a few days back for an operation, but praise the Lord, he's okay! So now I'm back, and ready to write more. Love your beautiful reviews while I was away! Of course, besides a rather untasteful one by ' ass wipe mo fo' in chapter 9. winces But don't blame him (or her, for that reason) I was sure that this story would not appeal to some people, so if that particular reader is still reading this story by some chance, I would like to apologize for not keeping down the rating. And also an answer to ' hao-lover'. My God, I'm sorry for making you hate Hao. That was totally unintended. Especially because your nickname is just. . .the love for Hao. And if you're reading this, I would like to point out to you that " Yoh enjoying Anna writhering under him" was in Anna's imagination. Sorry if you didn't manage to see that. If you have any more inquiries please e-mail me or review me, and I'll keep in touch. In any case, this is chapter 13. Please enjoy this everyone! And please look forward to the following chapters to come! To those who felt queasy about the recent " scenes" in the chapters before, this one will be free of it. But in the next, back to what you others like the most! Thanks for your time!

**SPOILER: There will be a scene of Anna and Yoh's past in this chapter. Tons of Yoh/Anna scenes in here. **

CHAPTER 13

Anna pursed her lips angrily at Horo, her legs crossed as she glared across the room at Horo, who was currently tied to the plumbing outside Yoh's house. Anna glanced sideways at the other girls, who had come to peek every few minutes. She gave them a curt nod, and they smiled, and walked away to enjoy the party. She looked at her watch before glaring at Horo once more. " Well, it has been half an hour, Horo Horo." She said sourly. " You just have to hold up for another five and a half before I make you clean up after the party."

" It can't be **that** extreme, can't it?" Horo asked exasperatedly. " Yoh only had to be hung for one!"

" Th. . .That's because he's my fiancé. And he has the liberty to. . ." She said, stuttering slightly at his sudden question. But she pulled herself together in time, leering at him. " Besides, you peeked on Tamao and the others too, and that's why you have to pay the consequences." She finished that by crossing her arms across her chest.

Silence.

" Aren't you going to enjoy the party?" Horo suddenly asked, at the sudden sound of Ryu's laughter.

" No." she snapped. " Now shut up, you little pervert."

" That's a rather rash accusation." Horo said, smiling sheepishly.

" Then what?" she said coldly. " A freak?"

" Aw, come on, Anna. . ." Horo said, sighing. " Is it my fault that all of you are so darn beautiful, with such great bodies?"

Anna flushed.

Horo mentally slapped himself. **That** was almost a request to be killed.

" I. . .I didn't. . ." he started, spluttering, when he stopped in mid-sentence, when he noticed what Anna was doing. She was blushing. It was the most unknowingly beautiful and sensual thing he had ever seen her do, and that almost made her gorgeous in a new light.

" I'm. . .I'm beautiful?" she whispered, almost to herself.

He was shocked to hear her say that. But then again, that was no wonder. Almost all the beautiful women in the world didn't think that they were beautiful. All of them somehow saw some flaws or blemishes on their faces that they hated or to say the least, dislike. " Yeah." He said awkwardly. " You really are."

" And is my body. . ." she started, before stopping, and slapped him across the face again, his face hitting against the wall in recoil. He groaned, and she stepped back, alarmed. " Oh, sorry." She said, caressing his cheek; his face reddening with her touch. " I didn't mean that."

Silence again.

" Horo Horo?" she asked softly.

" Yeah?" he asked.

" Is my body really good?"

He wanted to force a laugh. " Like you wouldn't believe." He muttered.

She would have glared at him and called him a pervert.

But instead she bit her lip, hiding a small smile.

" Thanks." She said. " Nobody besides Yoh has ever complimented me before."

Horo was appalled. Was this the true façade of Anna Kyoyuma?

" Anna?" came a voice.

The two turned around and noticed Yoh standing there with a forced smile on his face, holding a cup of punch in his hands. It was also then when they then realized that Anna was still softly caressing Horo's cheek, and she drew away from him quickly. " Yes, what is it, Yoh?" she asked.

" I heard that you were here looking after Horo. . ." Yoh said, somehow sounding jealous. " So I wanted to bring you a drink."

" Right." She said, taking it from him. " Thanks."

Yoh nodded, taking a swift glance at Horo before walking off.

There was an uncomfortable silence that followed.

" I'm. . .going to have fun at the party for a moment." Anna said suddenly to Horo. Horo frowned. Was it just him, or did Anna just sound scared that Yoh had misunderstood her. " Just stay here, okay?"

Horo nodded numbly.

She walked off, disappearing past the wall.

Behind them, Hao let out a smirk, ticking a check box off the list he had. " That's the first one. Jealousy is such a beautiful thing." He whispered to himself. He looked up at the sky, and at the beautiful moonlight. " The next step all counts on yourself, Yoh." He continued, lighting himself a cigarette. " And you too of course, Anna."

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" Have you seen Yoh?"

Ren just shook his head and Anna walked off, scratching her head. Somehow, something inside her wanted to explain to him what he had just saw. It was ridiculous she knew, but even she herself thought that she was having a rather tender moment with Horo just now. And if even she though that way, what would it seem to an onlooker?

She bit her lip and walked up to Kino, who was laughing at a joke that Mickey had said. " Mickey? Have you seen Yoh?" she asked. Mickey shook his head good-naturedly. Anna opened her mouth and looked at Kino, mouth opening and shutting, not knowing whether she was allowed to ask Kino if she had " seen" Yoh yet.

" Is something the matter?" he asked.

" I was just looking for him. . .what's so funny?" she asked, raising her eyebrows at Kino, who was chuckling to herself in one corner. Kino just waved it away dismissively.

" It's nothing." She chuckled. " It's nothing. But this reminds me exactly of what happened seven years ago when you and Yoh were both eleven, when you met again. It was his birthday too, at that time."

" I don't remember." Anna said, raising her eyebrows. " And I don't quite care."

" Oh, don't walk away so fast, Anna." Kino said lightly, yet there was a definite sharpness in her voice that made Anna stay rooted to the spot. " I trust Mickey still remembers?"

" Boy do I ever." Mickey said, chuckling. " It was such a cute moment."

" Indeed it was." Kino said. " Indeed it was."

Anna said nothing.

Silence.

" Care to tell it once again?" Anna asked, failing terribly to sound reluctant.

Kino and Mickey both hid a smile.

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**FLASHBACK 7 YEARS AGO**

" Why do I have to wear a dress anyway?" Anna grumbled, lifting her hands in the air, so Kino could slip the dress onto her. " You didn't tell me that we were having visitors last night. You promised that you would give me a day's head start to make myself invisible when they would come."

" This time I didn't want you to go hiding again." Kino said lightly, zipping up the dress from the back and smiled at Anna fondly. " Because the person who's coming is a person very close to my heart. To yours too, I guess."

" And who is this person?" Anna asked suspiciously.

" It's Yoh." Kino said, eyes gleaming.

Silence.

" Who?" Anna asked.

Kino almost slammed her walking stick across Anna's face, but held herself by just giving her an exasperated look. " Your fiancée." She said quickly. " You can't have forgotten him **that** quickly, couldn't you?"

" Oh." Anna said, face reddening. " Him."

Silence again.

" Do you want me to make you look prettier then?" Kino asked, grinning at her.

" Don't be stupid." Anna snapped. " Why would I?"

There was another moment of silence that followed, Anna pretending to look at her fingernails while Kino just stood there, grinning at her. Anna sighed.

" Yes please." She said.

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It was three.

Kino said he would be here at two.

She fidgeted with the hem of her dress, chewing her bottom lip nervously. To tell the truth, she didn't know why she had bothered to use make up on herself anyway. It was not like Yoh would notice anyway. He seemed to be the type of person who wouldn't even be able to notice water in a rainstorm. She sighed and leaned her head against the wall behind her, shutting her eyes. " Why the Hell am I in love with such a useless boy anyway?" she muttered to herself.

" Because of his uncanny characteristics?" came a chuckle, and she sat upright, face flushed. Kino looked down at her, smirking. " Plus, he was the only one in the world who ever cared for you so much before."

Anna looked away.

" But he's late." Kino said. " Where could he be?"

They sat there in silence for a while longer, seconds turning into minutes, minutes turning hours, hours turning into what felt like centuries. Anna tapped her foot against the floor impatiently before rising to her feet. " It's late." She said restlessly. " It's already seven and he still hasn't shown up. I'm going to my room."

" Can't you wait for him for a little longer?" Kino asked, although she was already digging her walking stick into the ground, ready to wham it across Yoh's head. " I'm sure he has an explanation for being late."

" Right." Anna said sarcastically. " You do that. While I. . ."

" Forgive him this once, Anna." Kino said silently. " Trust me."

" And why should I?" Anna asked, cocking her brow.

" It's his birthday." She said.

Anna snapped her mouth shut. There was a knock on the door that disrupted the silence that passed between the two of them. They just looked at each other for a moment; and in this moment, something between them passed. A look of recognition, a reassurance, or a slight push in the back from Kino to Anna. Anna, body trembling from head-to-toe, opened the door with trembling fingers.

There stood Yoh, face reeked with mud, that stupid grin plastered on his face once more. He smiled at the two women, but it vanished from his face as Anna's hand slapped itself across his face. He stepped back, clutching his cheek in shock, noticing Anna's full-formed glare before smiling.

" Sorry I'm late, Anna." He said.

" Whatever." She snorted and turned her heel to walk into her room.

" Where are you going?" he asked curiously.

" My room." She said shortly.

" Can I follow?" he asked.

She stopped, raising her eyebrows. She looked at Kino who was standing behind Yoh, who was grinning at them like a schoolgirl on high. She nodded curtly and walked off. Kino sat down, nodding to herself as Yoh waved goodbye to her and followed Anna up the steps of the house. " It almost gives you the mood to watch romance movies, doesn't it?" she said, almost to herself, but a young man popped his head in from the window.

" Yeah." Mickey said. " Thanks for taking care of Yoh."

" No problem." Kino said.

Mickey grinned and hopped off into the shadows.

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The two of them entered Anna's room slowly, and she shut the door of her room slowly. He let out a whistle, and stuffed his hands in his pockets. " Nice room you have here, Anna." He said politely, looking around it, almost desperately looking for something to compliment.

" Keep quiet and don't touch anything." She snapped.

Her heart was hammering against her chest as she sat on her bed, clutching her chest painfully. She was so nervous that it was almost hurting her. He did so little, and yet had so much overwhelming power over her. It was appalling. Scary, to say the least. Still, she was disappointed. He had been with her for a full ten minutes so far, and he still had not complimented on how she looked. Sure, he was only eleven, but didn't he know common courtesy?

She crossed her arms across her chest sulkily.

_Well, guess what, smarty pants._ She thought. _I'm not going to wish you a happy birthday until you at least say how nice my hair looks. _

And you thought that Anna was always the mature self she was.

" How long have we not met each other?" he asked, picking up one of her dolls at the far end of her room before putting it back down once again.

" Twelve months, I presume." She replied simply, before she froze.

" Oh." He said, shrugging. " I see."

But he didn't know what she had realized. She had remembered something. She never remembered birthdays or occasions, or anything. Hell, she didn't even know it was Christmas until she saw huge fat men posing outside shopping malls, wearing ridiculous clothes that one wouldn't wear at a beauty shoot, let alone as pajamas. She glanced at him, hoping to steal a glance when she noticed he was looking at her.

He smiled.

She looked away, face burning.

" So. . .why were you late?" she asked, hoping to keep his small mind busy until she could get her flaming cheeks to recede. Yoh chuckled and leaned against the wall behind him.

" I was hoping you would ask that." He said. " Come on."

" Excuse me?" she asked, eyebrows raised.

" Trust me." He said confidently. " You won't regret it."

Reluctantly, she got up, only to notice his hand was raised in her direction, looking somewhat as a peace offering. " Follow me." He said, grinning cheekily.

Blushing, she took his hand and followed him. She could feel the warmth of friendship at the touch of his fingers as he ran out of the room, and into the living room outside. She had never touched anyone or was touched by anyone before. And when she finally did now, she realized what it was. It was like drinking a cup of hot tea on a cold day, or watching a sunrise on a crisp morning, or watching the sea lap across the shore as you watch the sun set. It was beautiful; and it was so sensual that she felt herself shiver at the very thought.

" We're going out for a moment, grandma!" Yoh called out.

" Have fun!" Kino called out, giving them both a knowing look.

They got into their shoes and ran out, Anna lagging far behind, her hand still clasped in Yoh's. It was soon after when she was about to snap at him on how much longer they would have to take when he stopped. She raised her eyebrows and felt his fingers slip away from hers.

" Here we are!" he said jauntily.

She looked around and noticed where they were.

" We're in a grass land." She said soberly.

" Darn right we are!" he said enthusiastically.

" Yoh, I don't get what we're doing h- - -"

" Shh." He whispered. " Wait."

He yanked on something, and in a sudden moment, there were hundreds of fireflies that surrounded them, illuminating the skies above. Her eyes widened in shock, and looked at Yoh. In his hands was a flower; it was a lily. He smiled at her, a blush grazing his cheeks. " It's our anniversary, in any case." He said. " I wanted to make this day special for us." He handed it to her, and she took it with both hands. " For the both of us."

She was stunned.

Bedazzled.

It was so strangely corny, that it was sweet.

Beautiful.

Amazing.

Tears started to fall from her face as she knelt to the ground, crying her heart out. His eyes showed concern and he held her in his arms, looking deep into her eyes. " What's wrong?" he asked. " Is something wrong? Did I do it wrong? What did I do? What?"

But she kept crying.

And he held her in his arms.

" You plagiarist." She said through tears. " Which movie did you copy this from?"

" Well, Matamune told me about someone who did this once before he passed away." Yoh said sheepishly, scratching his head. " If this offended you in any way, then. . ."

But he was cut short by the feeling of her lips on his cheek.

Her lips left him and she took a step away from him, chewing on her bottom lip. He stared in unflattering bedazzlement, before grinning cheekily at her. " You're really beautiful today." He said. " Did you put on makeup?"

Her eyes widened before folding her arms across her chest.

" Yes." She said huffily.

Silence.

She looked up at the sky, staring at the fireflies that illuminated the sky for a moment before looking back down at Yoh. " Happy birthday." She whispered.

" Thanks." He said.

**END FLASHBACK**

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Anna couldn't stop the faint tinge of red that was grazing her cheeks. Blimey, she couldn't believe that she had forgotten that. What an axe wound she was being. Mickey and Kino were looking at her with annoying grins on their faces, their arms across their chests. She scowled and turned her heel to walk off, when she heard Kino's voice ring in her ears suddenly. " I have a feeling you just broke his heart." She said, and Anna stopped in mid-step. " Do whatever you can to make him feel better. . .is that a deal?"

Mickey glanced at Anna.

Being the shaman that he was, he noticed her head move the slightest fraction of an inch downwards before continuing her brisk walk away from the two of them. He smiled to himself.

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Anna found Yoh sitting inside his room, his back facing her, those disgustingly orange earphones wrapped around his ears. He must have been listening to BOBLOVE again. Anna bit her lip and shut the door behind her, hoping for him to turn around to face her. But he didn't. She sat down right behind him; somehow not wanting to distract him from whatever he was doing. She licked her dry lips.

" I was hoping to have a talk with you. . ." she started slowly. " But it's probably going to easier for me if you can't talk back to me or look at me. . ."

When she received no reply, she continued.

" There's nothing going to between me and Horo Horo." She said. " I don't know whether I'm flattered that you would actually get jealous when I go off with some other guy, or whether I'm insulted that you would think I would end up with someone else other than you."

Silence.

" Kino reminded me on what happened seven years ago. . .the first time we celebrated your birthday together as a couple. I feel like such a bitch for forgetting that. I hate myself for that; even after all your efforts to make me smile that I just threw them all in your face. For Christmas you would buy me presents but I would just dismiss them. For Valentine's Day you would buy me chocolates, but I would give them away. For my birthday you tried your best to make me happy, but I forgot yours totally."

Silence once again.

" So I guess what I'm trying to say is. . ." she started, throat dry.

He remained quiet.

" . . .Is that I'm sorry." She whispered. " Will you please forgive me?"

He didn't answer and she smiled sadly to herself.

" That was really stupid." She snorted. " Saying that to someone who can't even hear me. . ."

" . . .I forgive you."

She stopped and turned around, and noticed him grinning cheekily at her.

" You're forgiven." He said. " Anna."

Her eyes widened before whipping her hand across his cheek. He gasped and cupped his cheek, confused. " That's for making me spout all that crap and acting like you didn't even hear me." She whispered.

He smiled fondly at her.

" I love you Anna." He said.

He wrapped his arms around her waist, staring deeply into her eyes. She flinched at his touch but accepted it, wrapping her arms around his neck.

" I. . ." she started, but he pressed his finger on her lips.

" You don't have to force yourself." He said. " Just say it when you mean it."

Her expression softened as her hold on him tightened.

" Okay." She said. " I will."

Silence.

" Yoh?" Anna said. " Can you do me a favour?"

" Yes?" he asked lovingly.

" Can you help me untie Horo Horo from the plumbing?"

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Outside, Hao looked upon them, smiling fondly.

" That's step two done." He said, ticking it off the list. " Just eight more and I'll be done." He looked up at the moon once more. " But I'm going to have to give Yoh some more of my lessons." He said, rubbing his chin. " Although I have to admit, he actually is one of the few that would make Anna show that sort of expression."

He crushed up the paper in his hands.

" Looks like I have much to learn."

He looked at Anna and Yoh once more before chuckling. He knew that if Horo was caught, he and Anna would have a silent moment together, and somehow or another that would make Yoh jealous. Everything was going according to clockwork. It was pure genius actually. Planning it right down from the pill which Ryu wanted to give the love pill in Anna's drink to the scene that was happening now.

Anna was so unpredictable and yet so predictable at the same time.

He had told Yoh that she would come into his room to apologize, and Yoh had immediately wanted to record it down for remembrance. Hao glanced at the earphones that Yoh was wearing. Then he saw it connected to the voice recorder. He chuckled to himself and sighed.

" Everything's going the way I want it to." He said to himself.

Then something inside him broke.

Everything. . .?

No.

Not everything.

Anna was being given to his brother, not him.

He opened the present that Anna gave him, and found out that it was a necklace, with the words "HAO" on it, flames erupting from the jewel found in the middle of the beads in the centre of the necklace. He put it on fondly before biting his lip in an attempt to hold back his tears.

One would say he cried.

One would say he laughed.

But in the night, in the darkness of the night. . .

It was hard to tell.

Extremely hard to tell.

END CHAPTER 13

Sorry for the sappiness of this story. But it's finally done! Chapter 14 will be back to humor, and there will be the scene of once again, Hao's lessons. If it's not in the next chapter, then it will be in chapter 15. Depends on how long my mind goes. But the story will soon be coming to an end I guess. There will be many twists in the chapters to follow, but I'll just tell you this. In the chapter where Yoh finally gets really angry is the climax of the story, and that's where this sooner or later will end. Darn, I was really enjoying writing this too. I hope all of you enjoyed it too. Right, chapter 14 will be up as soon as possible. Once again, I caution those who find this material distasteful, **PLEASE **just read the chapters with no **WARNING** words found on the top of the stories in it. Okay, thanks for your time!


	14. A Whole New Plan

Chapter 14 is up and at them. I was contemplating on the situation of this story, and finally came up with the final draft of the story. Yes, I'm hoping to end this story at chapter 20, at most chapter 25 or 30. I always liked to end stories on a nice, full number. Somehow it seems more significant, don't you agree? Well, that's just a personal opinion, I guess. grins. Here this chapter is, everyone. Not that many "scenes" in here either. Many apologies, but I'm building up to that area. But I hope I can use Anna's jealousy to keep you fantastic readers amused. lips twitching Please read and review.

CHAPTER 14

Anna was **not** in a good mood.

Somehow, even as that was, it sounded somewhat like an understatement. Yoh knew exactly what the source of her anger was the very second he heard her yell from her bedroom. Manta looked up at him curiously and Yoh just smiled sheepishly. " It's that time of the month again, Manta." Yoh said, almost pleasantly, as he sipped his tea calmly. Manta blushed to the soles of his feet and let out an embarrassing cough.

The two of them sat in his empty kitchen for a moment before they heard the slam of the door in Anna's room. " There she comes now." Yoh said, putting down his cup.

Manta raised his eyebrows.

" How can you stay so calm?" Manta asked curiously.

" Hmm?" Yoh asked dreamily, resting his chin on the palm of his hand. " No, actually I'm scared of her stiff even when she's not. . .yeah. . ." he added hastily, earning an encouraging nod from Manta. " But just knowing that she can have periods and everything, that makes me realize that she's actually human."

" Er. . .Yoh?" came Manta's edgy voice.

" What?" Yoh asked defensively. " You have to admit, although she can be cute and sweet at times, there are just times where she's just plain sadistic to the core."

" Yoh. . ." Manta said, an even more obvious edge to his voice now.

" What?" Yoh said indignantly, starting to get annoyed at his friend's strange tone of voice. " Okay, she was cute yesterday, but you have to admit, sometimes she's just mean. . .to. . ."

At that moment he noticed a strong aura coming out from behind him, and it was only when he turned around when he noticed what Manta had been so petrified over. Anna stood there, lip twitching, her eyes in slits, yet there was an uncharacteristic smirk on her face, that was far scarier than her glare. " Well, I'm sorry Yoh, that's what I am." Anna said in mock sweetness. " I thought that after this many years you would get used to that by now."

" Aw, Anna, I didn't mean all that. . ." Yoh said hastily, getting to his feet.

" No, it's alright." Anna said, smiling at him. " I'm used to you talking bad behind my back and everything. . ."

If she was using her smile to increase his fear for the situation, she was indeed doing it very well. She waved goodbye to his before turning her heel and walked off.

Yoh let out a sigh of relief, but that moment of weakness caused him to ignore the fact that Anna had whipped around once again, grabbing the nearest flower pot from the table next to her and flung it at him.

" That's gotta hurt." Manta whispered, watching Yoh fall to the ground.

" And now for you, Manta." she said curtly. " Speaking ill of me with my fiancee aren't you?"

" No!" he spluttered. " I nev- - -"

WHAP.

" Good morning!" called Ryu from the front steps, when he saw what scene had met his eyes. He gasped and started to run when he found out that Anna's beads had wrapped themselves well around his body. There was a cruel grin plastered on her face as she crossed her arms.

"Oh crud." he whispered as she walked over to him.

" You were the one who spiked my drink, weren't you?" she hissed, her hand raised in a ready position to slap him across the face.

" Okami. . ." he started meekly, but was cut short by once again, her hand whipping itself across his face.

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" Well, this is an interesting sight." Ren muttered, stepping into the house with Horo Horo behind him. Ryu, Yoh and Manta were all hung on the ceiling, every so often knocking into each other as the wind blew. They grinned down at the two of them as they saw them enter.

" Morning, Ren. Horo Horo." Ryu said, as cheerfully as a person who was hung up more than eight feet above the ground could say.

Ren and Horo looked at each other before sighing.

" Want me to help you get down?" Ren asked, grabbing his family sword before flicking it out, ready to cut through the beads when he heard Yoh speak up.

" It's no use, Ren." he said. " Anna's magic is too powerful for your sword to cut through. But never mind, she'll let us down once she simmers down."

At that moment Anna appeared from the television room, slamming the sliding door to one side, it immediately smashing to pieces. Ren, Horo, Manta, Yoh and Ryu just looked at her with wide eyes. She glared at them and they looked away quickly, Horo and Ren immediately removing the shoes from their feet. Anna walked up until she was just under Yoh before raising her eyebrows at him.

" Yoh, remember to fix that door." she said, pointing restlessly to the door of the television room.

Yoh nodded numbly.

She looked at him for a moment before walking off back into her room. The others shivered as Horo Horo looked at his watch. " It's around a week since Hao gave you his last lesson, don't you think it should be about time he gave you another?"

Ren snorted and crossed his arms across his chest.

" You won't need his stupid advice." Ren said sulkily. " I'm enough for that."

" Which reminds me. . ." Horo said, pointing his finger accusatingly at Ren. " My sister says that you have been snubbing her for quite some time now. I'm in no position to step in the way of you disliking my sister, but I always thought you would at least act like you liked her for my sake."

Ren blushed and looked away.

" I didn't snub her." he muttered under his breath.

Horo raised his eyebrows at Ren.

" Well, then that's good to know." he said slowly.

There was an awkward silence that followed if not for another flashy appearance of Hao, who burst out of flames in the middle of the room. The fires lapped at his clothes, but disappeared under the flick of his hand.

" Nice entrance." Horo said, grinning.

" Thank you." Hao said lightly, bowing gracefully.

" Show off." Ren muttered under his breath.

" So where's my dear brother?" Hao asked, ignoring Ren's comment.

Horo sighed and pointed his finger to the skies.

" He's dead?" Hao asked, alarmed, looking up. " Oh." he finished.

" Hello." Yoh said, wincing.

" What the Heck are you doing up there?" Hao asked.

" Anna's in a bad mood." Yoh sighed.

" Ouch." Hao winced. " That must be dreadful."

" Right on the spot there." Ryu groaned.

" I'll speak to her to let you guys off." Hao said flatly, straightening his cloak. " I can't give you lessons if you're hung up to the ceiling with. . .beads. . .right?"

Suddenly he remembered his very, very, VERY wrong dream he had about him and Anna before shuddering and walked off. The others looked at each other and shrugged. Well, Ryu, Manta and Yoh **tried** to shrug, anyway.

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" Hao Asakura." Anna said boredly. " Do you think I'm stupid?"

" That's a rather bold statement to say." Hao said lightly, shutting the room door behind him. " Why would you ask that?"

" Coming in with that fancy swagger of yours. . ." she said dully, taking another rice cracker from her basket and bit into it. " In what you hoped I would take into consideration and then after you would pop in some question of you hoping me to do you a favour, or let you take Yoh to a strip club or something. . ."

" While we're on the subject of that. . ." Hao said, grinning.

" Drop dead." she said curtly, looking away.

" Tsk." he muttered. " Cold."

" Towards you, anyway." she said, rolling her eyes.

" I have come to request that you remove Yoh, Ryu and Manta from the ceiling." Hao said, in a bow so low that his forehead was practically touching his knees.

" And why would I agree to that?" Anna asked curtly.

Hao had thought of a perfect comeback for that, but before he could start on it, she got to her feet and strode past him. " Fine." she muttered under her breath.

Hao raised his eyebrows.

" That was unbelievably easy." he said to her.

" Whatever." she said.

" And. . .that was. . .in some way. . .a mood swing." he said coyly, smirking at her. Predictably, her hand whipped across his face and he staggered back, wincing.

" Pervert." she muttered.

" But it's true that you're. . ." he started, when she slapped him once more.

Her hand raised once more, glaring at him, and he took a step back, wondering what other reason she could slap him with. In the end, her hand whipped across his face once more and walked away from him. " What the Hell was that for?" he yelled indignantly, rubbing his sore cheeks.

" Just in case." she muttered, disappearing behind the wall.

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" Damn, your fiancee sure is a wild cat." Hao muttered, wincing as Faust dabbed the cotton wool on his smarting cheeks gingerly. At this, Faust stopped for a moment, confused, and looked at Eliza questioningly.

" I was talking to Yoh." Hao said witheringly.

Faust nodded and pressed a finger against the smooth plane of Hao's cheek. Hao gritted his teeth, and Faust nodded his head knowledgeably. " I see what's the problem here. No doubt you chose a wrong time to provoke Anna-san. . .all of you." his eyes skimmed the room for the offending individuals besides Ren and Horo who were sitting down cross-legged on the ground, twiddling their thumbs. " In any case," Faust said simply, getting to his feet slowly. " The burning feeling should leave in a couple of minutes, Hao. The cream I put on your cheeks works wonders. I remember the time I was massaging Eliza's warm, milky skin with it, when I felt this huge. . ."

" Thank you for sharing." Yoh cut in, while the others coughed nervously.

Faust nodded ceremoniously, before leaving Yoh's room, Eliza following faithfully behind him.

" Well, shall we begin?" Hao asked pleasantly, folding his sleeves.

" Yeah." Horo said eagerly. " Is it alright if I stay and watch?"

" Certainly." Hao said jauntily. " Ren? Would you care to help me out?"

" I'm not your helper, Hao." Ren said sourly.

" I'm sure that's true." Hao said, almost witheringly, before turning to Ryu and Manta. " Do you two want to stay and try to get tips too?" he asked kindly. Manta blushed and shook his head furiously while Ryu just laughed. " Thanks, but no thanks, Hao." he said, grinning broadly. " I've pretty much got it handled with the ladies by now."

The others raised their eyebrows at him.

" If. . .you say so." Hao said, shaking himself before he turned back to Yoh. " This is my second lesson for you, is it not?" Hao asked Yoh, cocking his head. Yoh just nodded his head numbly. " Excellent." he said briskly. " Now. This may be a slight of a risk for you and your personal well-being, but that's what Faust is for isn't it?"

Yoh nodded, slightly more nervous now.

" Ren." Hao called out, and Ren opened one of his shut eyes. " What would you do to a girl who you know has to be attached to you in the end, but shows no remote interest in you at the moment?"

" You're just acting stupid now." Ren said tiredly. " Of course you would. . ."

Then he stopped, frozen to the spot as he looked from Hao's grinning face to Yoh's confused look. " Oh, you wouldn't." he said, looking shocked and terrified for Yoh at the same time.

" Of course I wouldn't." Hao said, getting to his feet, patting his twin brother on the shoulder. " Yoh's going to be the one who will do it."

Yoh looked at Ren, then at Hao, then at Ren once more.

" Do what?"

Hao smiled.

" The best way to find out if a girl is secretly in love with you is by using the beauty of the sting that has been dwelling inside each of our hearts. That, of course, is what Ren has obviously already guessed. . .jealousy." he patted Ren on the back, ignoring the look of pure shock on his face as he just looked at Hao in disbelief.

" Surely you jest." Ren said, appalled. " Yoh is not yet experienced. . ."

" He has my genes." Hao interrupted, on a voice of forced polite. " He is capable."

Hao turned back to Yoh, smiling at him confidently. " This is what you will do, Yoh." Hao said. " Please do not interrupt me until I am done, as I have a few things I will have to ask you to do. First of all, totally ignore Anna in the morning, and leave the house without her." Yoh's mouth burst open in an attempt to remark on that, but Hao cut him short. " Secondly, accept EVERY SINGLE present that girls give you today." he said. " I have asked them to not give you anything on your birthday itself for a reason, you know. I thought of this way ahead of time. Thirdly, do not sit with her at recess. Sit with me, where I would invite six or seven girls. Then, go out with the boys for dinner. Sound easy enough?" he added pleasantly, smiling brightly at Yoh.

" That's attempting suicide!" Yoh gasped, gaping at his brother. " I'm going to be murdered by Anna the second I don't prepare breakfast for her! And what if. . ."

" I think it's a beautiful plan." Horo said, rubbing his chin. " Nice job, Hao."

" Thank you." Hao said, bowing.

" Hao. . ." Yoh said slowly, but Hao simply smiled.

" Trust me." Hao said. " She will not lay a finger on you."

" How are you su. . ." Yoh started.

" Trust me." Hao said, firmer this time.

And Yoh stayed silent.

" Alright, listen up." Hao said, grinning rather cheekily at the two of them. " Girls are the sort of people who do not realize how much they like a person until they know how popular or how cool they are to the public or to others. Frankly speaking, I do not see how people like ' Chris Tucker' or 'Ryan Brown' can get the ladies so easily if they weren't so famous. Sure they're pretty good-looking and everything, but they're just about as smooth as a cement floor."

Horo and Yoh listened to him, lapping everything up.

" Nursery." Ren muttered, getting up, not allowing Hao to hog up the limelight. " A girl is attracted to those who others attract. You must have the X-Factor to make them fall for you. I believe even a person as cold and silent as Anna must have some silent cravings for herself too."

" Really?" Yoh asked, sounding doubtful.

Hao chuckled.

" I noticed one not too long ago." Hao said, smirking at Yoh. " It was when you beat down those three huge bullies who were intimidating the little girl in school a couple of days back. It was pretty smooth of you to just walk away without looking back, I have to admit. And I noticed Anna standing in a corner, watching you, a blush on her face."

" Really?" Yoh asked, a grin on his face. " She saw me?"

" Yeah." Hao said, nodding.

Ren smiled at Yoh.

" In any case, since Hao trusts you so much, just go for it tomorrow."

Yoh looked at the two of them before nodding his head.

" Okay." he said confidently. " I'll give it a shot."

Horo, Hao and Ren smiled at him.

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Anna looked around her the next morning, frowning. That was odd. Yoh was nowhere in sight. She walked into the kitchen, before noticing a note to her on the table. She picked it up with raised eyebrows at looked at it. " Dear Anna, Sorry I cannot go with you to school today. I will be going with Hao, as I have duties with him. From, Hao." She crumpled it up and tossed it out the window, pursing her lips irritatibly.

" He didn't even bother to apologize. . ." she muttered before grumbling out a number of swear words before opening the refrigerator door which surprisingly was devoid of any foods. She blinked as she peered deeper, but it was more empty than it was when they first bought it. That couldn't be right, she had asked, or maybe even forced, Yoh to buy the groceries the day before. She slammed the refrigerator door with all her might and stomped out the door, her stomach growling painfully. Who knows, maybe Yoh had prepared something for her for recess when they went to school the next day. . .

Little did she know how much of a surprise she was going to be in.

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Lyserg entered the classroom cheerfully that day, but his eyes widened at the sight of a huge swarm of girls crowding around Yoh's table, forcing gifts into his hands, before running away, screaming and giggling their heads off. He noticed Yoh in the center of it all, smiling rather sheepishly at Lyserg as he tried desperately to mosh into the middle of the crowd, but was knocked in the head by one of the girls who had bought Yoh a chocolate bar the shape and nearly the size of the Eiffel Tower. When he finally made it beside Yoh, he was already sporting bruises and cuts in places he didn't even know he could get bruises and cuts.

" Hello." Lyserg said, sitting on a handmade chair that a girl had give Yoh, which had her face on it encircled with heart shapes. " I thought it was your birthday two days ago."

" Yeah, but I guess some people did their calendars wrongly." Yoh lied.

" How's Anna taking all this?" Lyserg asked.

Yoh pointed in Anna's direction, and Lyserg looked. Anna was not even looking at Yoh, reading a book in her hands, but she was looking noticeably sulky, and her eyes were practically boring holes into the paper, and there was a temples appearing out of the side of her forehead. Lyserg shuddered and looked at Yoh. " Aren't you afraid of what she's going to do to you?" he asked.

" What? I'm not doing anything wrong." Yoh said simply, before accepting a humongous teddy bear that a girl had sent him, which was so big that she had cut it up in six pieces, and requested Yoh to sew it up together once more himself.

" Do that as it may. . ." Lyserg said slowly, but Yoh didn't hear him, as he accepted the singing poem from an embarrassing girl, who jumped out of the window halfway, crying as she forgot the rest of the song.

" Hope she dies." Anna muttered under her breath, crunching up the book in her hands, slamming it onto the ground, and ignoring the many stares she got, walked out the door and slammed it behind her.

The room shuddered at the noise.

Hao smiled to himself in one side.

" Keep going, Yoh. . ." he whispered. " You're doing fine. . ."

Recess had arrived soon enough, and Anna somehow was not surprised when she noticed Yoh sitting with Hao at the recess table, laughing at something that Hao had said. But there was something that made her feel a pang in her heart, and that was that there were seven girls that were surrounding them, two of them rubbing their chests against Yoh's arms coyly. Anger seemed to flare from the deepest of her every being as she just glared at the nine of them. For how long she looked she did not know, but finally Yoh noticed her standing there.

They looked at each other for a long time.

He looked at her.

She looked back.

Then he did the worst thing possible.

He smiled.

Somehow this gesture seemed to seemed to hurt her more than anything Yoh had done this morning and ran off in the opposite direction, eyes filled with tears.

Yoh watched her go, his heart burning with guilt.

Even Hao looked rather reluctant.

" Should I go after her?" Yoh asked doubtfully.

" No." Hao said. " Or else our whole morning would have been in vain. Honestly speaking, I didn't think Anna would crumble so easily. I guess it's because of her period that made her so easy to crack. . .Pirika!" he called out, and the girl turned around. He pointed in the direction that Anna had ran, and did a couple of brisk sign languages, which nobody had the faintest idea what it was, but Pirika seemed to funny understand.

She nodded and ran off.

Hao smiled at leaned back in his chair.

' I If I know Anna well enough,' he thought to himself. ' She would try to make Yoh jealous back, which in turn makes him jealous. She's much better at that game anyway. And that would lead to the final step.'

He took a sip of his drink.

' Confrontation.'

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" Anna?" Pirika asked, slowly stepping into the bathroom that Hao had gestured, expecting to see Anna curled up in a ball and crying. But she saw none of that. Anna was glaring at the glass in the bathroom before her, looking almost angrily at her reflection in the mirror. Anna turned in Pirika's direction, and at that moment Pirika saw what was in Anna's eyes. There were no tears, those might have been wiped away ages ago, but it was stone clad determination. Anna was up to something, and Pirika was aware of that.

" Didi you see him in the recess hall?" Anna asked tightly.

" Well. . ." Pirika said half-heartedly.

" Pirika?" Anna said coldly, and Pirika flinched.

Then she sighed and nodded.

" Yeah." she said. " I did."

" It was disgusting, wasn't it?" she said.

" Well. . ."

" Pirika?" Anna asked again, glaring at her.

Pirika sighed.

" Yes, it was." she said.

" I bet he's feeling smug and happy for making me cry just now." she said, sounding somewhat embarrassed and angry at the same time. " He's trying to make me jealous, isn't he? I'll show him what jealousy would feel like. . .I'll burn a hole in his pathetic little heart."

Anna smirked at Pirika, who was looking at her with a confused expression.

" Not a word to Yoh about this, alright?" she said, smirking.

" Wouldn't dream of it." Pirika said.

And as Anna walked off, Pirika smiled to herself, her arms folded across her chest. " You're such a genius in your own way, you know that, Hao?" she muttered. " Everything is just going according to your plan. . .what could possibly go wrong?"

And at that, there was a distant rumble in the skies for possible downpour, and Pirika might have wondered if that was the Heavens speaking, almost defying what she had previously said.

END CHAPTER 14

Well, this chapter is done! Went through some troubles to get this finished, I can promise you. As you can see, something will go that is not according to Hao's plan. Well, that is to be expected, despite the perfectionist that he is. However, Anna's going in his direction, and this will be done in most likely seven more chapters. Hey, just thought of something. Two straight chapters without ACTION inside it. What did you think of it? Hopefully some of you aren't TOO angry about that, but I'm just building up the feeling towards it until it finally comes. What say you? Lolz. Please look foward to chapter 15, where I sincerely will try to add action inside.

**SPOILER: HAO MIGHT HAVE ANOTHER ONE OF HIS " DREAMS" AGAIN**


	15. The True Battle Begins

Chapter 15 will be a drastic one. The war between the girls and guys will soon start. Pirika and Ren have a moment in here, for all those Ren X Pirika fans out there! Please read and review!

**WARNING: LEMON CONTENT IN THIS STORY. IF YOU FEEL QUEASY ABOUT SUCH WRITING OR BEHAVIOR, PLEASE SKIP SUCH PARTS!**

CHAPTER 15

It was around three in the afternoon when Hao entered the library by himself, a library book propped in his hands. He smiled at three girls who passed him nervously, who all swooned to the spot soon after. Making his way smoothly to the library counter, he dropped the book on the table, and grinned at the librarian behind the counter, who just so happened to be Lyserg. The green haired boy raised his eyebrows at him.

" Hao." he said, surprised. " What are **you** doing in a library?"

Hao smirked at him. " Could ask you the same question." he said.

" I'm here for duty calls." Lyserg said tiredly, scanning the book that Hao can checked in before looking at it with a bewildered expression. " ' What Girls want and when they want it.'" he read out-loud before looking at Hao. " I didn't think you would need this. I thought you knew all the ropes."

" I **do** know all the ropes." Hao said, sounding offended that Lyserg would even think that he would borrow a book like that. " It was Horo Horo who borrowed it but was too embarrassed to return in. He almost thought that some pretty girl would be at the counter. Well, he was half right. . ."

" Oh, shut up." Lyserg said, flushing red. " Don't you have books of your own that you want to return to the library too? It's almost at the end of my shift."

" Yeah," Hao said. " As a matter of fact I do. It's. . .Anna?" he finished, bewildered, as Anna stepped into the library, not even looking at the both of them and walked straight into the history section. The two of them looked at each other and shrugged. Hao smiled to himself and spun his heel comically, before facing Lyserg once again, smoothing down his hair boldly. " How do I look?" he asked.

" The same like you did ten seconds ago." Lyserg said suspiciously. " Why?"

" Well, that's perfect, isn't it?" he said, grinning, and made his way over to Anna.

Ignoring Lyserg's face which was confused beyond belief, he strode over to Anna, whose nose was deep inside some huge book about Hitler's regime. " 'Afternoon." he said, towering over her. She looked up at him coldly, before getting back to her book, ignoring his presence.

" I was never fond of Hitler." he said, smirking to himself as he placed himself perfectly proportionate to the place where she was wedged against the wall behind her.

" Why?" she said, voice so cold that there was an almost definite frost that circled around the two of them. " The two of you have so much in common."

" That's not very nice." he said, in a mock offended voice.

" Like you are." she said sarcastically.

" Thank you." he said, in mock stupidity.

" You're welcome." she said dryly.

He sighed and picked up a book off a nearby bookshelf randomly. " How much longer do we have to keep speaking to each other like this?" he asked, silent enough to be speaking to himself.

" As long as both of us are alive." she said coldly.

He smirked and placed his hand on her shoulder, and felt her stiffen with his touch. " I don't think it's possible that you would hate me forever." he whispered, drawing into her, until they were barely noses apart. " You see, there's something that is going between the two of us, and I bet you know that too."

" I don't know what you're talking about." she snarled. " Maintain your distance."

" I think that for once you should just stop listening to your brain. . ." he whispered, his hand caressing the smooth skin of her thy, his lips nibbling on her earlobe. " And just pay attention to your body." he finished.

" S. . .stop, this is stupid." she snapped, but her voice bore a great doubt and confusion, by which was coated with a layer of lust. Which never went unnoticed by Hao. He grabbed both her legs and hooked them around his waist, grinding her hips longingly, earning a sweet gasp from her.

He smirked at her as her face reddened at the extremely obvious position they were in. Her mouth opened to snap something at him, but before she knew it, he had grabbed her head downwards and pressed her into a forceful kiss, his tongue entering her mouth hungrily, dwelling with hers. He knew straight away she was a girl who liked things rough from the dreams she had, and the fact that she actually enjoyed the rape pornography that Horo had brought for Yoh. She was gasping into his mouth with every second that passed, and when he finally broke the kiss, her face was wet with perspiration, panting, lust ridden all over her face.

" I see you don't think this is stupid anymore. . ." he whispered, his fingers pressing themselves against the dampening cotton between her legs. She blushed beyond any shades of red, chewing on her bottom lip.

" Hao. . ." she whispered.

He ignored her, but started to unbutton the buttons on her shirt, struggling to contain his excitement as her bra slowly and slowly got into view. " Red." he whispered to himself, shrugging the shirt off her shoulders, it landing in a heap on the floor. With difficulty, he unclipped her skirt and forcefully tugged it down her legs, listening her whimper and gasp above him. He smirked coyly at her, and she bit her lip.

" Hao. . .I don't think I should be. . ."

But he stopped her again, his lips pressing against hers, unclasping her bra, letting it sail to the ground. He pulled away from the kiss, his lips on her neck now, enjoying the sweet sound of her moaning. " Once again," he hissed, his hands on her buttocks now, lifting her upwards against the wall behind her so that he could place butterfly kisses on her magnificent chest, hearing her gasp out.

" Shh. . ." Hao whispered. " We don't want other people to know what we're doing, don't we?"

" Then. . .stop." she snarled, attempting to slap him, but he caught her hand in mid-air, crushing her small fingers within his, hearing her gasp in indignation.

He looked at her, seemingly considering, when he grabbed the waistband of her underwear and ripped it off her legs. She glared at him, but let out a sensual moan as his finger delved into her. " Shh. . ." he whispered once again, covering her mouth with his hand, raising his eyebrows as he heard footsteps pass them.

" Hey, where's Anna?" came a confused voice, and Anna's eyes flickered open at the sound of the person's voice. Hao smirked as he lifted her higher, his mouth directly at her secret place, tonguing her fiercefully, and she had to bite her hand to stop herself from screaming out loud. She could see Yoh and Ren's heads bobbing up from the other side of the library book counter. All they had to do was to look up, and. . .

" Hao!" she hissed angrily.

" Yeah. . ." he whispered coyly, his second finger delving into her, his tongue taking over it, and she whimpered pitifully. " . . .Say my name."

He obviously felt a sort of vindictive pride of being in total control of her, as he was smirking at her as his mouth left her wet area, his third finger delving into her, pumping into her slowly. He let her down, dropping her to her knees, she whimpered as he followed her on the floor, unbuttoning his pants before removing his boxers. Her face reddened at the sight of his half-nakedness, and he chuckled.

" Never saw one this big before, have you?" he whispered.

" Shut up." she snapped, blushing.

" She said to meet her here," Yoh's voice came from the other side.

" Maybe she's just late." Ren's voice said.

Anna clenched her legs tightly around Hao, gasping as he slowly forced himself into her, no longer thinking about betrayal or getting caught, her insides bubbling, desperate for release. She dug her fingernails into his back, whimpering as he sank and sank continuously into her, grunting and moaning himself.

" I wonder where Hao is too." Ren said, contemplating.

" He said he would be here too, didn't he?"

Wetter than she ever felt before, she whimpered as Hao turned her around so she was facing away from him, and he pumped into her faster than before, his nails digging into her skin.

" Anna. . ." he moaned, her name sounding like a prayer. He turned her to face him, just so she was directly below him, and pumped into her faster and faster, beads of sweat falling from his forehead.

" Hao. . ." she whispered throatily, almost making him fall off balance.

Hooking her up by the armpits, he lifted her up until she was propped right against the books, and continued sinking into her again and again and again, his name escaping her lips continuously.

" I'm worried for Anna, actually." Ren's voice came out.

" Oh?" Yoh's voice said. " Why's that?"

" Hao takes him time for things, but Anna's always punctual, and always on time. You don't suppose something happened to her on the way here, don't you?"

Yoh had laughed.

" Don't worry." he said. " She's late for things too."

" Really? Like what?"

" Hello." came Lyserg's voice. " What are you two here for?"

" We were looking for Hao and Anna."

" Anna and Hao?" came Lyserg's voice. " They're in here somewhere. . ."

Hao gritted his teeth and thrust deeper into her when he heard let out a sob, biting her lip so hard he was sure blood was to come.

" Hao. . ." she choked. " I'm going to come."

His member hardening beyond belief at that sound, giving a gasp of agreement, he thrust into her faster than before, and she let out a scream from behind her hand which covered her mouth, her inner muscles clenching and she released herself and let out a whimpering, gasping moan as she fell to the ground, sweaty. Gritting his teeth and giving one last thrust, he came inside her, crying out loud as he heard the two of them beside walk over to their area, three gasps sounding throughout the library at the sight of the both of them.

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Anna's gasped for breath, her eyes widening to the size of golfballs as she sat upright in her bed.

She looked around her, and the darkness overwhelmed her all of a sudden. Her bedroom door burst open, and there stood Yoh, looking down at her, concerned. " Anna!" he called out, sitting down next to her. " Are you alright? I heard you get up from the other room."

She shook her head, rubbing her forehead tiredly, desperately trying to will her heartbeat to slowly down. " I'm fine, Yoh." she said silently. " Just had a nightmare, that's all."

" What was it about?" he asked kindly.

" I'd prefer not to talk about it, Yoh." she said stiffly, crossing her arms across her chest. For one, she did not think Yoh would like to think that she just had a dream about her and his brother having sex together, and secondly, she was still cross with him for trying to make her jealous. " It's late, isn't it Yoh? Do back to sleep in your own bed."

" But. . ." he started.

" Go, Yoh." she said curtly.

Looking doubtful, he turned his heel and walked off.

" If you need me, I'll be in the opposite room." he said.

" Very kind of you." she said placidly.

He bit his lip.

" _No matter what, do not apologize to her." Hao had said not too long ago warningly, pointing his finger accusatingly at Yoh. _" _If you say sorry to her now, the whole day's efforts would have all gone down the drain. Anna must not think you're repentant of what do did, or else she would know that you knew what you were doing, and would only get more and more angry at you. The best thing you can do, and will do, is to act confused. It's what you're like most of the time anyway, so no acting is needed for the task."_

" What is it?" she asked behind him, making him jump.

After pondering one what he should do for a moment, he sighed.

" Nothing." he said.

" Well then, get out." she snapped.

" Yes, Anna."

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" We have a major problem."

That was never good news.

Yoh sat upright, and looked at Ren's grim face anxiously.

" Well, spit it out." Yoh said.

" Remember when we agreed to follow whatever Hao had said to make Anna jealous?" Ren said, trying his best to sound casual. Yoh blinked but nodded, wondering what was coming up next. Obviously Ren thought he had been obvious enough, and let out a cry of exasperation. He pointed his finger at the window found inside the classroom. " Just look outside." he said, groaning.

" I don't get what you're. . ."

" Just do it."

Yoh looked at Ren, amusing at his facial expression for a short moment before walking over to the window and looked out. His jaw dropped promptly at the sight of Anna. She was still wearing her school uniform. That was the only good thing that Yoh could think as she walked past him, barely batting an eye as he waved meekly. The school tie had been loosened until there was an obvious amount of a V shape that had rested on her chest. The shirt she was wearing must have been worn by her when she was in junior high or something, because it was so tight fit that she had to unbutton the buttons almost to the very end to be able to breathe. Which was almost exactly what she was doing.

Her shirt had been unbuttoned halfway to the end, a half see-though singlet worn inside her shirt, which failed to make miss of the black bra that seemed to burst out of her shirt. Her skirt was so short that a person could have looked up it on the first stair on the staircase, still standing up without looking obvious. Her socks were tightly fitted on her legs, and it was then when Yoh saw how beautifully elegant her legs were.

" Is that Anna Kyoyuma?" came a whisper.

" My God, she's so hot!"

" I didn't even know she liked to dress that way!"

" You think I could take a picture of her without her noticing?"

Yoh just stood there at her, in unflattering shock, and not failing to go unnoticed by the others around him, lust. Hao smirked to himself as he leaned against the wall of the classroom that Anna was supposed to go into. She ignored him and made a daring stride to enter her classroom before noticing that he was blocking her way with his arm, a smirk playing on his lips. " Well, this certainly is a new dress code going on." he said coyly. " Don't you think that all this attention is going to make Yoh jealous?"

" Mind your own business." she snapped. " And get out of the way."

He stepped away.

" Whatever you say." he said.

She glared at him for a moment before side-stepping away, and disappeared into the classroom, the boys who had been staring at her immediately snapping of their trances and continued with whatever they were doing. Yoh looked at Ren anxiously.

" You don't think she's going to get hit on, do you?" he asked.

Ren rolled his eyes.

" I think that's obvious she will." he said.

Yoh glared at the people who looked sheepishly at him before turning his heel and disappeared into his classroom. " What the Hell are you thinking, Hao?" Yoh muttered angrily to himself.

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Ren opened his eyes.

Then he shut them.

Then he opened them.

Then he shut them.

Rolling over his bed with his face in his pillows, he sighed. He was being utterly pathetic. He had over thirty female numbers, but the only sole person he wanted to be with at the moment was Pirika, one of his best friend's sisters! That was betrayal, in one's point of view, wasn't it? He slammed his face continuously into the pillows, looking utterly comedic, and was not aware of that until he heard a stifled giggle.

He gasped and got up, alarmed, when he saw who it was.

Pirika looked down at him sheepishly, holding a picnic basket in one of her hands, the other covering her mouth. " I'm sorry. . ." she said.

He looked away, blushing furiously. Obviously from her point of view, she thought that he was purposely avoiding her gaze. " Who let you in?" he asked sullenly.

" It. . .it was your sister." she answered, lip trembling.

He got to his feet, gazing at her, in what Pirika thought he was glaring, and took a step backwards. She knew that she never really got scolded or hit by Ren, and she knew that he was a nice person. But there was something about him that frightened her slightly even if he was happy or not angry at all. His eyes fell on the picnic basket in her hands for a moment before looking up at her with raised eyebrows.

" T. . .This was just something I wanted to give you for lunch." she said.

" For what?" he asked, blinking.

He watched her struggle with an answer before shaking it away. " It's alright." he said. " You can take it back."

Eyes wide, she stared at him.

" So it's true what my brother said." she said quietly.

" Say what?" he asked tiredly.

" That you DO hate me." she whispered.

His eyes widened.

" No I don't." he said, shocked that she would say that.

" Oh, yes you do." she whispered, eyes brimming with tears, and he felt a pang of guilt as she hastily wiped them away. " You never talk to me, you avoid me wherever you go, you don't do anything with me. . .you barely note my existence on this earth!" she added, yelling now.

" No I. . ." he started, but she had already ran out the door.

" Pirika!" he yelled, aiming to follow her, but she had already slammed the door behind her. Some to think of it, it was the first time he had said her name out loud, and it tasted sweet on his lips. He almost yanked open the door when he noticed Tao Jun standing there, a knowing smile on her face.

" Oh, not now, nee-san." he said wearily.

" Was that your girl-friend?" she asked. " Looks familiar."

" She's Horo Horo's sister." he snapped. " Which way did she go?"

" Your girl-friend is Horo Horo's sister?" Tao Jun gasped.

" No!" he yelled. " Which way did she go?"

" So you have a girl-friend who's not Horo's sister?" Tao Jun asked.

" Oh, go bury yourself in dog food." he snapped, running past her. Taking his chances, he sped past towards the area where his parents were grinning at him mischievously, which was obviously the place where Pirika had ran to. He caught up with her at the place where it displayed the many Tao armors, and he gripped her hand in his grasp. No sooner had he done that, she whipped around and slapped him across the face.

Staggering back, he gaped at her.

" What the Hell are you doing here?" she yelled, her face still filled with tears.

" To tell you the truth." he said, feeling strangely confident.

" That you want me out?" she snapped. " Fine. Just show me the door."

" No." he said firmly.

" Then what the Hell do you want?" she cried.

" I love you." he said silently.

She stopped, her mouth opening to say something before shutting it once again.

" What?" she whispered.

" I. . ." he started. " I never was one who displayed my emotions well. When I saw you with that guy at the party, I wanted to beat him up to pulp, but I just ignored the two of you. When you greeted me in the classroom, I ignored you, but I was burning up inside. I wanted to kiss you, but I just. . ."

He was stopped in mid-sentence by the feeling of her soft lips upon his. Without caring about his embarrassment and anger, he kissed her back with equal hunger. Before the both of them knew what they were doing, they were undressing each other desperately, ripping off shreds of clothing before he finally slid himself into her, moaning as he finally got his full length into her.

" Ren. . ." she whispered throatily.

" Yeah." he hissed.

" I love you too."

He smiled at this.

A true smile.

" I love you." he said again.

" I love you too. Please. . .take me."

And he did.

With everything he got.

Outside, Ren's parents sighed as they stopped a servant from entering the armor room. " Just do it some other day." Ren's father said to him firmly, before turning to his wife, grinning. " It's a first that Ren finally loves another girl." he said to her, amused as she giggled. " I wonder what she's like?"

" REN!" they heard her gasp.

They both sweatdropped.

" She's a cheerful, loud individual. . ." Ren's mother said.

" I LOVE YOU!" they heard her scream.

" Allows herself to be frank in expressing her feelings." Ren's father said.

At that, they heard her scream out loud as she climaxed.

The grandfather of Ren approached, smirking.

" Not to mention, she'll be great to shag." he said.

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" You and Ren? Pirika!" Horo yelled, outraged.

Ren scowled at Horo, even as Pirika came over giggling, and hugged him across the chest. " You don't have to sound so astounded that the two of us are together. Nor should you feel angry, to say the least. It's not like I'm a bad person or anything. The fact remains that even if you don't like me, me and Pirika like each other very much, and that does not concern you even if you don't."

" I'm not saying that I hate you, Ren." Horo said hastily. " It's just that. . .it seems too quick, doesn't it?"

" I don't think so." Manta said cheerfully, smiling at Ren.

" Thanks." Ren said, smiling back.

Almost everyone was grouped in the coffeeshop, ready to listen to explanations and to voice their opinions. Yoh smiled cheerfully as Hao started to light his cigarette. " For me, as long as the two people in the relationship, I'm happy for them. You don't have to make it sound like their getting married or something, you know." he said, as Horo looked like he was going to push his sister away from Ren.

Hao lit his cigarette and blew, smiling. " I think it's wonderful." he said, as Ryu cheered behind him. " Horo, you're just being overprotective."

" No I'm not. . ." he started, before staring as Pirika slid onto Ren's lap. " Hey! This is a public place, you lovesick puppy!" he yelled at Ren as the two of them started to kiss.

" Never mind them." Tamao said dreamily. " I think it's quite cute."

" Don't you?" Jun said fondly.

Lyserg smiled and shrugged as Ryu asked him for his opinion, but then raised his eyebrows at Hao. " Hey, Hao." he asked him, and Hao turned around. " It's been more than five minutes since you lit that cigarette. Why hasn't Anna stopped you yet?"

The rest seemed to just notice that too, and turned to look at Anna.

She was sipping her drink out of her straw, looking away from the group until she noticed everyone's eyes on her. Ignoring them, she got to her feet, and picked up her bag. " I'm going to go now." she said. " I'm bored, and I have a show at home that I want to watch."

" I'll follow you." Yoh said, getting up from his seat abruptly.

" I'm fine by myself." she said curtly, taking everyone by surprise. Usually she liked Yoh to follow her whenever she wanted to leave an area. Apparently it took Yoh by surprise too, and he just stared at her for a moment. They looked at each other, his mind racing to say something, her body directed in a way that was almost daring to stop her from going. After what seemed like hours, Yoh sat back down, smiling almost forcefully.

" Okay." he said. " I'll see you at home."

Ren and the others let out the unknown breath they were holding.

Anna seemed to think for a moment before turning away.

" Goodbye, everyone." she said before walking out of the shop, earning many lustful stares from boys as she passed them. Yoh looked at Hao.

" Is everything going according to plan?" he asked desperately.

" Oh?" Hao asked, sounding surprised. " No, I didn't plan any of this to happen in the first place. But don't worry," he added, as Yoh's eyes widened in shock. " I'll find a way to sort everything out. Trust me." he smiled at Yoh, looking concerned.

Yoh managed a struggled smile.

" Okay." he said.

If only Yoh had looked a second longer, because he could have seen a smile spreading across Hao's, his eyes glinting a rather self-reassuring way that only Ren seemed to catch in that moment. He raised his eyebrows at him, before he finally realized what Hao was doing. He chuckled to himself.

" What is it, Ren?" Pirika asked him lovingly.

He caught Hao's eye.

" Nothing." he said. " Absolutely nothing."

He looked at Hao.

Hao looked at him.

They both smiled.

END CHAPTER 15

Ren has finally ended up with Pirika! Don't worry, this is not the end of Ren and Pirika moments, for those of you RenPirika lovers out there! Sorry about the lie I told you in the last chapter. I said that it was indeed Hao who had the dream but actually it was. . .Anna. Sorry about that. I decided to change it halfway, I hope none of you are angry at that. Chapter 16 will be out as soon as possible! I will try to write it, despite the exams that are approaching me with thunderous stomps. Please read and review this chapter!

**REN AND HAO SHARE THE SECRET OF HAO'S PLAN! ANNA** **PLAN A SUCCESS! WHAT IS HAO'S TRUE PLAN? HOW WILL YOH REACT? FIND OUT IN CHAPTER 16!**


	16. Anger, the second best thing

Well, THIS chapter certainly drained the life out of me. Put up a voting poll lately actually. Please go there and just vote for your favourite couple in Shaman King. I would really appreciate it. The website is: ' http/ Just copy and paste. OR, just go to my account profile and just click on the WEBSITE. Okay, thanks in advance for those who vote!Chapter 16 everyone!

CHAPTER 16

" You want to what?"

Yoh raised his eyebrows at Ren, his hands on his hips, clearly annoyed that he had not listened to what he had just said carefully. " I want to invite you and Pirika to dinner with Anna and me. I thought it would be fun to go out with another couple for once."

" First of all," Ren said, pointing out two fingers, counting them off slowly. " You and Anna don't seem like anything of a couple to me, and second of all, don't we always come over to eat dinner at your house anyway?"

" That's different, Ren." Yoh said. " This time it will just be the four of us."

" Sounds plausible." Ren said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. " Who's paying?"

" Split between you and me." Yoh said matter-of-factly.

" Oh." Ren said, sounding disappointed. " And why are you suddenly wanting to eat dinner with another couple with Anna, who currently denies the very fact of your existence?"

" Because I felt like eating dinner with another couple, and Anna currently denies the very fact of my existence." Yoh replied, sighing depressingly.

" Oh." Ren said, grimacing. " I see."

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Anna was sitting in the coffeehouse by herself, looking out the window dreamily. She was not sure what she was doing out here, actually. The first thing she remembered was walking out of this very same coffeeshop a few minutes ago, and then, after seeing that Yoh and the rest had left soon after her, she soon entered, knowing this was the least possible place Yoh would go to. She twirled her straw in her drink loungily, and let out a depressed sigh. She did not know what she had saw in Yoh before, anyway, she thought furiously, now pounding angrily at the drink with her straw. He was such a chauvinist pig, such a pervert, such a horny piece of- - -

" Excuse me, miss?" came a voice, and she looked up.

A rather attractive looking young man was looking down at him, a confident smirk on his face. She raised her eyebrows and looked behind him and noticed three other men behind him, grinning at her. She sighed. Not another person with irritatingly corny pick-up lines.

" What is it?" she asked, bored.

He appeared to look confused. Apparently he was not used to being put down by girls. " What were you expecting me to do, start licking the soles of your feet?"

" Well, if you want to do that, that's perfectly fine with me." he said, smirking.

_Great_, she thought. _Another Hao wannabe. _

" Sorry, not interested." she replied simply.

He seemed to be even more surprised by that, and looked over his shoulder at his friends, who were looking equally surprised. Looks like he was known by his chummies to be fantastic with girls. _' That was just perfect,' _Anna thought smugly, acting as thought she could not see the very pervertic things the man's friends were telling him to do, and just crossed her legs and waited to deflate his ego even more.

" Have I met you somewhere before?" the person asked her.

" How original." she said dryly. " Never heard that one before."

He blinked, and she just looked back at him blankly, even though inside her she was laughing her head off. This was just what she needed; someone she could just insult openly, to pass her anger of Yoh on.

" What's your sign?" he asked persistently.

" No entry." she said. " Any others? Are you going to ask me what book I'm reading? Unfortunately there's nothing propped up in my hands, but if you wish so, I could get one from the nearby library."

" What do you do for a living?" he asked, almost desperately now.

" I'm a cross-dressed." she replied.

He laughed it off. " You're good." he said.

" And you're bad." she said sourly. " Aren't you embarrassed?"

" Not to the least." he said mildly. " A friend of your wanted me to come over here and let you heal your anger off your boy-friend. He seemed to think that that would make you feel better anyway."

She blinked. " And who is he?"

" His name is Hao Asakura." the person said, sitting down next to her. " The runner-up to the Shaman King, wasn't he? Pity he lost though. . .he was my idol for a point of time."

" That idiot." she muttered silently.

She got to her feet, undoubtably aware that Hao had indeed cheered her up. Not that she would admit it openly though. She turned around and smiled at the person. " Thanks for that anyway." she said to him, before walking out. He looked at his friends, and they shrugged at him.

" She's hot when she smiles." one said.

" Amen to that." another said.

" Was it really worth being embarrassed in public like that just for ten bucks from Hao?"

" Worth every cent." the person said, smiling.

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Yoh stood in front of Anna's door, taking in a deep breath before releasing it, before taking another and releasing it. This went on fort a pretty long time, and Amidamaru looked at him anxiously. " What's the matter Yoh-donno? You're acting like a woman in pregnancy! What's that exercise called? It's. . ."

" Lamaze breathing, I know." Yoh replied shortly. " I'm just getting ready to ask Anna if she would like to go to dinner with me, Pirika and Ren. I have to make it **seem** optional for her, even though it's **not** optional for her, because in the start it was optional for Pirika, but I **made** it not optional for her because I made Ren's optional become not optional even though his not optional was already not optional from the beginning because if Ren knew that his optional was not optional from the start then he would purposely make it seem like he doesn't know his optional is actually optional which would make his optional really be optional by saying no, which would turn Pirika's optional stay optional because Ren's not going, which would turn Anna's not optional optional because she always kept it optional in the first place, which would leave me in a five-star restaurant by myself."

Only because he was with Yoh for many years did it make Amidamaru understand vaguely what Yoh was saying. He rubbed his chin. " That's got to put you on a tight stick, Yoh-donno." he said. " But personally I believe that by acting like Anna's optional is not optional from the start would make it seem like you know that she knows that you know that she would make not optional optional from the start."

Yoh nodded.

" Sounds plausible." he said. " But I'm just going to stick to the original plan if you will." he sighed and placed his fingers on Anna's knob. He looked at Amidamaru and got a comforting smile back.

" Good luck." Amidamaru said.

" Thank you." Yoh replied, before opening the door.

He entered, and took a step back, alarmed at what he saw. She had her reading glasses over her eyes, a huge book propped against her knee. She looked up at him with a slight frown. She was not angry like what he had expected, or irritated which he would have secondly proposed, but she was not exactly jumping for joy at the sight of him either. The sight of her made him breathless. She was wearing a tight-fitted singlet with short pants that rode up to her upper thighs, and her glasses added to the effect of her beauty. He gulped in breath. Was it just him, or had she grown more and more beautiful over the past few days?

" Yes, Yoh?" she asked.

He scratched the back of his head nervously. " Well. . ." he started, as unsmoothly as a person could have. She just sat there on her bed, watching him skeptically. " Ren and Pirika are going out for dinner, and they asked the two of us to tag along with them."

" I would have thought they would have wanted to shag in private." she said simply. " After all, that's what all first dates are like anyway."

" Besides us, anyway." he muttered.

" What was that?" she asked sharply.

" Nothing." he said nervously. " So? Do you want to go?"

She gave him somewhat of an appraising look before getting back to her book, not looking back up at him again, crossing her legs so she was looking down at the huge book below her. " Sorry, I'm in no mood to dress up." she said.

" It has really good food." Yoh coaxed.

" Not interested." she answered, flipping the page.

" Ren's paying." Yoh lied.

" For his and Pirika's share." she said plainly.

" It's a Five-Star restaurant." Yoh offered.

There was a strange familiar flicker that fell across her eyes, and Yoh almost thought that she was going to agree when she looked back down at her book. " I'm sorry Yoh." she said. " I'm just in no mood to go out for dinner."

" Anna. . ."

" Get out, Yoh."

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" Come on Yoh, don't get **that **depressed." Pirika said to Yoh soothingly, massaging his shoulders gently. " Just because she didn't agree to go to dinner with us doesn't mean that she's angry at you or anything. She could have really meant what she had said. . .maybe she really **is** not in the mood for eating out, you know? There are just times where women are like this. . .don't worry about it."

Yoh sighed and leaned against the wall in his room; Pirika letting go and returning to Ren's lap once again. " You really think so?" he asked her doubtfully.

" I'm sure of it." Pirika said brightly.

" That's a bunch of bullshit and you know it." Hao said calmly, and Pirika glared at him. " I bet all of us in here know. . ." he paused for a moment, his eyes threading through every person in Yoh's room; Pirika, Ren, Horo Horo, Yoh and Lyserg. " . . .that Anna is a person who would rather die than let out on a fantastic feast. Hell, she had a fever once remember? And she got all the way up from her room to the kitchen just to eat Ryu's long-awaited meal." The other nodded silently, remembering the incident. After all, it was not something that many could have easily forgotten. " Which shows that she would go to a Five-Star Hotel even if she had four wisdom teeth pulled out. Yoh, surely of all people, you would know that the most clearly."

" Yeah I do." Yoh said gloomily.

" What the Hell are you doing, Hao?" Ren asked acidly.

" I'm just stating a fact," Hao said calmly, lighting himself a cigarette slowly. " Unlike you others who just try to make him feel better by spouting false truths and lies. . ." he started, grinning at Pirika, who looked away sulkily, earning a reproachful glare from Ren as he patted her head restfully. " I help him by telling him the truth. First things first, Yoh. Make dinner for us, won't you?"

" What?" Yoh asked with raised eyebrows.

" It'll seem sweet." Hao pressed on.

" That's true, I guess." Pirika said, looking over resentfully at Hao.

He smiled at her falsely. " Thank you."

" You're welcome." she said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

" And why should I make dinner again?" Yoh asked.

" It'll seem sweet." Horo said witheringly.

" To who?" Yoh asked. " To you?"

" Anna, smart boy." Hao said.

Yoh seemed to ponder on that for a moment before nodding his head and reached to open the door when Anna stood there in appallingly sensual clothes. His eyes widened to no extent as he looked at her up and down; all the way from her see-through singlet to her tight shorts to her fishnet stockings.

" Pirika, let's go." Anna said simply.

Pirika blinked.

" Where to?" she asked, her eyes still scanning Anna's skimpy clothes furvitively.

" Where else do you think?" Anna said placidly. " To a club."

Yoh got to his feet, eyebrows raised.

" I thought you were in no mood to go out." he said.

" I changed my mind." Anna answered placidly.

They just stood there, looking into each other's eyes; Yoh searching into her depths desperately, with Anna just staring back in calm defiance. Ren looked sideways at Hao, who gave him the slightest of winks in the fastest speeds of history. In that second he got it, and stood up to his feet. " Let's go, Pirika." Ren said to her, patting her on the shoulder, and Anna and Yoh broke their eye contact, looking at Ren surprisingly. " I'm in the mood to club anyway. But I won't go if you don't want me to, of course." he said to Anna, looking sideways at her.

Anna gave him somewhat of an appraising look before nodding her head silently. " I don't mind I guess." she said slowly. " Meet you downstairs in ten minutes."

" Alright." Pirika said, before looking doubtfully at Ren.

" Don't let her stay out alone." he said soothingly.

When she turned around, he and Hao caught each other's eye.

" You're either extremely cunning, or one thoughtful piece of crap." he muttered.

" It's one with the other." Hao said, grin broadening. " I care for my brother deeply."

" So do I." Ren said, almost defensively.

" Really?" Hao asked in mock stupidity. " You have a brother?"

" Oh shut up." Ren snapped, walking out of the room, slamming it unnecessarily hard before he left. Hao smiled furvitively to himself in a corner before getting up to his feet, squashing his cigarette into a nearby ash tray and started to make his way out the door. He was so used to getting caught smoking by Anna that the new her sort of shocked him. He was expecting merely a small change in her behavior, but that was it. Looks like some things were not going according to plan after all.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

They had entered Barry's Den, which was practically swarming with beautiful girls and handsome guys. Ren himself felt unnaturally nervous as he looked up at the terrible amount of skin that his girl-friend and his sister were showing to the public to see. Just as Ren shut the door behind the three girls, a rather attractive-looking blonde winked at him before making her way to the bar. He raised his eyebrows, amused, and almost forgot that he was not single anymore as he noticed Pirika walking over to him, a look of doubt in her eyes.

" Did that girl wink at you?" Pirika said.

" No." he said jokingly. " Actually, I don't know. I was too busy trying to look up her skirt."

She gave him a playful swat in the shoulder before looking around excitedly. " Do you want to have drink?" she asked him, after a moment of silence. Between them, I mean. There was no such thing as silence in a club. He just gave a shrug and followed her all the way to the bar, glaring at guys who checked her out on the way. They sat down together, and Ren was looking almost distinctly sulky now. Which was something that was never missed by the watchful eyes of Pirika. " What's wrong?" she asked him quietly.

" Nothing." he said shortly.

Pirika looked around the club, and quickly addressed the problem that Ren had. She smirked at him and pressed her lips against his earlobe, and he jumped slightly at that, but did not pull away. " Is little Ren-kun getting jealous with all the attention I'm getting?" she whispered throatily.

" No I'm not." he snapped, but gasped as he felt her hand on his swollen member, and looked at her in shock. She just winked at him as she continued rubbing him with immense speed. " Oh, Pirika. . ." he moaned. " Quit it. . .not in a public place like this. . ."

" Shh. . ." she whispered, pinching him slightly and he gasped. " Your sister's coming along."

That was the thing he had dreaded the most.

" Hi guys." Jun said cheerfully.

" Hi." Pirika said smilingly.

" Hello." Ren choked.

" Are you feeling alright, Ren?" Jun asked. " You're looking awfully flushed."

" I'm. . .okay." Ren gasped as he felt Pirika's hands unzipping his zipper, her hands reaching into his pants. " I'm just feeling winded that's all."

" I'm sure." Pirika whispered softly into his ear, and Ren thanked God that the club was noisy and dark enough to prevent her from being heard and seen of what she was doing. " God, you're long."

He groaned out loud and Jun looked at him, worried, and touched his forehead. " What's wrong with you?" she asked him, concerned. " You're not having a fever or anything."

" Maybe he's just nervous by clubbing, that's all." Pirika said, her voice innocent, but her clever fingers breaking every sexual law there was possible.

" Yeah right." Jun said, laughing. " Ren clubs more than a packet of cards."

It was then when he came, and he gasped out, dropping the glass that he was holding, spilling it all across the floor, crashing the glass, bucking his hips and groaned out loud as her hand left him, beaming at him.

" Seriously. . .are you. . ." Jun started.

" I'm good." Ren gasped. " I'm okay."

" Of course you are." Pirika said.

Jun raised her eyebrows at them before walking off. Ren glared at Pirika, who just smiled brightly back at him. " That was totally uncalled for." he growled. " I'm going to get back at you for that. What if I was caught by my sister?"

" I'm sorry." she said pitifully. Whether she was acting or not, she did it really well, and even Ren who was in no wrong, sighed and rubbed his sore temples. " Can you give me some tissues?" he asked.

" For your face?" she asked innocently.

He glared at her and said nothing.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Hao was sitting in his armchair, his chin propped up on his palm, his head deep in thought. " We had a short Ren moment quite early before," he started slowly. " Then, we had a Horo Horo moment with Anna, which is just as equally nasty. We need more than that to make Yoh angry at Anna. . .am I not wrong, Opacho?" he asked his little friend, who looked up at him with his huge eyes innocently.

" Correct, Hao-sama." he replied.

" Thank you." Hao said.

There was a definite moment of silence that followed that, Hao continuing with his train of thought, Opacho by his feet, looking up at him curiously. It seemed like he did not know whether it would be better to stay quiet and continue watching his master, but just shrugged it off and opened his mouth to speak when Hao broke into his speech. " You want to know why I'm helping my brother end up with the woman that I love don't you?" he asked good-naturedly, and Opacho nodded his head furiously. Hao opened an eye and looked at Opacho. " And you also think that me and her are a much more suited couple?" he continued, and Opacho nodded once again.

Hao chuckled.

" Arigato, Opacho." he said.

And he did not say anything else after that.

The next moment was something that would seem to have somewhat of a serene quality; Hao now looking watery eyed, his hand resting on his chin, looking out of the window in faint reminiscent. Opacho looked at him before looking at the ground, and got to his feet, leaving the room slowly, taking one last look at his master before shutting the door behind quietly. Hao didn't even seem to notice his friend's disappearance, opening his mouth to speak, his words coming out in a faint slur. " Why do I help him, you ask?" he whispered.

" Because I choose to." he finished, nothing answering him except for the faint blow of the evening wind.

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" Hey beautiful!" a boy who had been clinging around Anna for the past fifteen minutes yelled at her once again. " What's your phone number? You still haven't told me!"

" And for a good reason." Anna said serenely, drinking out of her drink quietly, appalled how this person could last with her coldness for a full quarter of an hour, which was commendable. The only person who could get that far was Yoh and Hao. That was all. Then she felt her heart pang at that name. " Yoh." she whispered to herself, still ignoring the boy who was trying his best to invite her over to his house for dinner. Sure she hated him. Sure she thought he was a pig that wanted nothing but to see her cry or angry or her heart broken. But he had done so many things for her in the past that made her laugh and smile too. . .Was she being too harsh towards him?

She stood up so quick from the bar that the person jumped back, before grinning at her. " What's up?" he asked her. " You're going to go back with me after all?"

" Dream on." she snapped, making a move to leave when she stopped. Something went through her head, just like a flashback from the past.

_" Come on Anna. . ." Pirika whined. " It's going to be fun. Plus, you could just give them your number, and purposely let Yoh get it. Imagine how cute he would look and act when he's jealous! Didn't you ever wonder how he would be like if suddenly guys started calling you, requesting for you to go out with them?"_

She rubbed his chin thoughtfully before turning around to look at the man, who grinned as jauntily at her as possible. She smirked. Seriously speaking, as long as he didn't speak and just stand there without talking, he actually was really good looking. Not to mention his screwed up attitude would piss the Hell out of Yoh. " Want to come over to mine?" she asked, her hands on her hips, earning a cheer from the person.

Ren and Pirika saw this and nodded to each other.

They took out a notebook and ticked this step off the list that Hao gave them. Pirika tickled Ren's chin lovingly. " Why don't you even have half the style that Hao has?" she asked.

He sighed.

" I don't know." he answered. " Whatever he is, he's a bloody genius, if there was one that could be named."

" Einstein?" Pirika asked.

Ren flushed.

" Yeah, him too." he snapped.

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Anna entered the house with the person lagging behind her, who said he was by the name of Yorokobi, which she knew was fake from the very second that he said it. She knew people like him would never tell girls his real name just in case they were clingy and tried to look him up in the name directory or something. " Follow me." she said, and he followed her with no resistance at all. She was about to guess where Yoh was when he popped out from his room, grinning at her as he saw her right before him.

" Anna!" he said brightly. " I. . ."

But he stopped in mid-speech at the sight of "Yorokobi" behind her. He looked at her, and she tried her best to keep her face straight. That was mainly because she was smirking her head off inside her mind, and also to keep herself from being swarmed with guilt. " This is Yorokobi." she said plainly, waving at the person behind her, who seemed to get the hint that he had to be as suave as possible, and smiled at Yoh, his hand outstretched. Yoh took it before leaving it quickly, still staring at Anna questioningly.

" Where did you guys meet?" he asked in mock politeness.

" In the club." she answered.

" Who's this guy?" the person said.

" I'm her fiancee." Yoh answered.

" And I'm her boy-friend, what the hell." he retorted.

They glared at each other before Yoh finally spoke up, turning to look at Anna who was beside him. " Anna, is this your idea of a joke?" he asked quietly. " Because if you ask me, I don't think it's very funny."

" What kind of a sick bastard would she be if she made a joke like this?" the person sneered.

" Stay out of this." Yoh said coldly.

" What are you going to do if I don't?" the person snapped.

" Yorokobi, quit it." Anna started.

" Yorokobi?" Yoh said in mock happiness, totally ignoring the fact that she was currently on his side at the moment. " Hasn't he allowed you to call him Yoro-Yoro by now?"

" Don't talk to me in that tone, Yoh." she said, voice so sharp it could cut through steel. " It's not for you to decide on who I can meet or who I can't, in a club or not."

" Yorokobi" felt a shiver go down his back.

Yoh Asakura?

The winner of the shaman fight?

If he let HIM get angry. . .

" Yeah, you're right, it's not." Yoh said angrily, him and Anna oblivious of the fear of the person right next to them. " Besides the fact that you're my FIANCEE?"

" Well, there's some fine print for you!" Anna yelled.

" Er. . .I think I'm going to go. . ." Yorokobi said nervously.

" No you don't have to." Anna said firmly.

" No, I'm late for my. . .bango lessons." he said lamely before tipping right out the door.

She raised her eyebrows.

She didn't think it would be THAT easy to get rid of him. She had been planning to force him to leave after getting Yoh insanely jealous, but this was better all the same. She was about to tell this to Yoh, and how she had forgiven him when she noticed him glaring at her.

" What, you're going to yell at me for chasing away your boy-friend?" he shouted.

" No, it's not that, Yoh. . ." she started.

" I know, I know. . .I AM your FIANCEE after all, aren't I? Unless you already have gotten down to the terms of divorce already anyway. . ."

" Yoh. . ." she said, almost pleadingly.

" I mean, I can't stop you from SLEEPING around with every guy you meet, right?" he ranted on.

She stepped back, like he had slapped her.

" Maybe it's my fault. . ." he said haughtily. " Maybe it's just my fault that I'm forced to marry a WHORE and everything. . ."

It was at that when her hand whipped across his face, and he stepped back, wincing at the sharp pain that was grazing his cheek. He was about to say something else when he noticed that there were tears in her eyes. " Don't you dare call me what I'm not, Yoh Asakura." she whispered, hate lacing every single of her words as she stepped past him and disappeared into her room, slamming the door behind her.

He stood there in the hallway for a long time, and as Anna fumed in bed, waiting for him to enter and apologize to her, glaring at the night of the hall that was streaking below the door of her room, did not see him past her door, and only shut her eyes as she heard the click of the bulb and the fading of the light.

END CHAPTER 16

The flashback that Anna had in the club was in chapter 6 with Pirika before she went to the club with them. You see how things are starting to replay? By the way, that was not the scene in which Yoh gets angry. There's still one last one, which will be coming very soon. . .very soon. Maybe in chapter 20 or 24. . .I'm not sure. For all those angry fans of Yoh and Anna, don't worry! I'm still getting this on! Something will happen along the way, so don't worry! Chapter 17 will hopefully will only take me some time. But I most likely won't get to touch my computer starting tomorrow, so today may very well be the last time I will update. In the next week, that is. So please read and review me! And vote for your favourite couple in my poll on my user profile under WEBSITE or in my author's note above! Thank you!


	17. Friend or Foe?

Sorry I took so long with the update. It's all because of the darn exams, if you must know; and I don't think I fared that well in it. Oh well. I don't know if some of you have realized this, but Hao's plan had repeated itself twice. I'll explain why I chose to do that in the later chapters. I received a rather humourous criticism from one of the reviews. . .not connected to to the internet right now. . .but he/she told me that I had repeated a scene twice. Good on you! I'm glad someone found that out. :) Thanks for reading my story so carefully. In a weird way, I'm honored. But, unfortunately, I don't think it will be possible for me to rewrite chapter 10 and 17. . .I'm really sorry if that disappoints you in any way. I'll try to get down on it after I finish this story. Promise, alright? (Waggles pinkie) Okay. Please keep reading and reviewing my story everyone! And thanks for voting in my poll! All those who haven't, please go to my homepage too! Thanks bunches!

CHAPTER 17

They were at the coffee house once again; Hao, Ren, Ryu and Horo, drinking their tea and coffees peacefully, discussing the current politics in the common society. In other words, the progressing of Yoh and Anna's relationship. Horo let out a depressed sigh as he took a sip from his coffee cup before pursing his lips together like a turkey's bottom. " This is ending up to become really bitter." he said softly.

" The coffee?" Ren asked curiously.

" The relationship." Horo snapped.

" The relationship of you and the coffee?" Hao said lazily; catching Ren's eye and smirking. Ren raised his eyebrows but said nothing. Horo said nothing after that, mumbling about something like bad manners and stupidity to its deepest depths. The rest ignored him, and it was another moment of silence that passed until one of them finally spoke up. " . . .You can't believe that the two of them are getting along so badly." Hao interrupted Ryu, who barely opened his mouth, no sooner speak. Ryu sighed again and opened his mouth.

" . . .Yes, it gets annoying. I know." Hao said.

Ren and Horo smirked into their coffees while Ryu looked rather annoyingly at Hao. " You know," Ryu said, waggling his finger in front of Hao. " It would be really bad for you if you were a girl, did you ever realize that?" he said. " Imagine your husband going to propose to you, but you say ' I do' before he even has time to say anything to you. That would be really dreadful, don't you think?"

Wile the others laughed, Hao stayed quiet.

" Anna could read every person's mind when she was young." he said.

The other three looked at him with skeptical looks.

" How do you know?" they asked him, almost all at the same time.

" I think I met her when we were young." he said casually, but it was one of the biggest secrets that he had which he never told anybody. They all looked at him with wide eyes and he merely smiled, looking away. " It's nothing to get shocked at about," he continued, despite the humourously shocked faces that the rest of them were giving him. " I doubt that she even remembers it. We were merely eight or nine."

" Then why do YOU remember it?" Ren asked, lips twitching.

He had got him fair and square, and Hao knew it. But he merely smiled back before changing the subject. " That's besides the point." he said calmly.

Silence.

" I bet twelve dollars that Anna would slap Yoh once tomorrow." Ryu said confidently.

" Thirteen for two." Horo said.

" Give me fifteen for five." Ren said.

They looked at Hao.

He smirked.

" Give me twenty for none." he said.

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It looked like Hao was going to win the bet by the way the others saw it. Anna had somewhat forgiven Yoh for calling her a whore, while Yoh just ignored the fact that Anna brought some guy over to their house near the dead of the night. Even as that was so, the two of them spoke to each other in polite, yet somewhat strained, voices.

It was that afternoon when hao was in the library, happily reaching out to get a book when he felt someone's eyes boring through the back of his skull. Eyebrows raised, he turned around, before his face turned into a smug grin. " Hello, Ren." he said, smirking. " Came here to pay me the money you owe me?"

" Don't try to be cute." Ren said witheringly, cornering him into the book corner that he was in. " What are you current plans with Yoh and Anna? It seems very well like your plan failed."

Hao calmly picked up a random book, flipping through the pages before looking back at Ren once again. " Fail?" he said mockingly. " Hao Asakura does not fail."

" You didn't pass the Economics test last week." Ren said.

" Not the point here." Hao said, stuffing the book back in its shelf. " What exactly do you want here? I'm rather busy at the task I'm at, and unless you're planning to help, I would like it if you left right away."

" I know exactly what you really want, Hao." Ren said, glaring at him piercingly, his vice-like grip on the bookshelf, threatening to turn it into toothpicks in seconds. " I can see what you see, even if the others don't."

" I don't know what you're talking about, Ren." Hao said, still smiling, yet his eyes were cold as marbles.

Ren glared at him for a moment before turning his back to Hao, his hands in his pockets. " I won't interfere with whatever you do," Ren said quietly. " But if you're planning exactly what I think you're going to do. . ."

He turned so both their eyes met.

" . . .I'll kill you." he whispered.

Hao smiled.

" Remarkable." he said quietly. " You really are a good friend."

" And would you call yourself a good brother?" Ren asked quietly.

There was a strange flicker that danced in Hao's eyes; a sign of anger as he made a motion to come closer to Yoh when Lyserg appeared, books in his hands, a nonchalant expression on his face. " Hello," he said, his expression changing at the sight of the both of them. " What are you two doing here?"

" Just getting a book to read." hao said, while Ren turned and made motion to leave.

" Ren." Hao said, and Ren stopped in mid-step.

" What is it?" Ren asked when Hao said nothing more.

Hao smirked at him.

" You really don't think I would try to bring her in, don't you?" he whispered.

Lyserg frowned. _' Bring her in?' _He thought.

Ren clenched his fists.

" Apparently you do." Hao said. At this, Lyserg looked at Hao, and would have screamed if he paid close attention to him. His eyes looked like they were alive and dead at the same time; his face contorted with anger and pain at the same time, yet he still carried a smile on his face; an awkwardly crooked smile. But in a second it was gone, and he smiled at Ren happily. " Don't worry." he said. " I won't."

Ren, still not turning his back to face Lyserg and Hao, walked out of the library swiftly, slamming the door behind him.

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" Alright Yoh, there's no need to be discouraged, we'll just try out a new question." Manta said to him comfortingly, biting into the apple in his hand before flipping randomly to a new page in the book that was in his hands. " How about this one. . .this looks easy enough. . . ' Je ne sais pas'. What is the meaning of it?"

Manta was giving Yoh a last minute french revision class before the exam, which was barely a day away. The two of them were in his living room, Yoh cramming every possible sort of information that was possible to be stuffed into his head as fast as possible. It was just a basic test, really, and basically everyone in the class knew what ' Bonjour' meant, let alone ' Je ne sais pas'. Yoh, however, who spent his class time either talking to Horo, staring dreamily at Anna or sleeping, knew nothing of the sort. Yoh rubbed his chin thoughtfully. " I recall hearing something like that during class time," he muttered silently to himself. " By any chance, could that possibly mean ' Merry Christmas'?"

" Nice try, but it's going to be a very doubtful Christmas with everyone wishing ' I don't know' to each other, don't you think?" came a rather dull voice behind the two of them, and they both spun around, noticing Anna standing there with half-lidded eyes. Manta gave a gasp and jumped to him feet comedically.

" I haven't made dinner yet!" he said.

" So I've noticed." she said.

With that, Manta toddled over to the kitchen as fast as he could. Anna and Yoh caught eye contact for the most brief of moments before Anna sat down on the couch directly opposite from where Yoh was sitting, and brought a magazine before herself to read. Yoh took another sidelong look at her before looking back down at the books below him. It was around half an hour later when she snapped the magazine shut and walked over to him, sitting down next to him. She did these three actions really quickly; so quickly that Yoh barely had time to react or say anything. " Let me help you with that." she said impatiently, whisking the notes from him.

He just stared at her for a moment.

" What?" he asked.

" Let me help you with that." she repeated, tempted to slap him well across the face.

He stared at her once again.

" Why?"

WHAP

Her hand whipped across his face before turning her attention back to the notes at hand, seemingly shuffling them before landing on one particular page. " Let's start with something easy, shall we?" she said in an extremely business-like tone. " What does ' Merci' mean? You should be able to get this, we bought chocolates with this name not too long ago."

When he didn't answer her, she turned to him, yet impatiently again, but her expression softened at the look on his face. " I thought you were angry at me." he said.

She blinked before looking away, face burning.

" Do you want me to?" she asked.

He just looked rather stonefully before grinning at her. " No." he replied. " No I do not."

They sat there in silence for a short while until they heard Manta's voice from the kitchen.

" Dinner's ready!" they heard him call out.

Anna nodded to herself before getting to her feet, her back facing Yoh.

" Hey, Anna." he called out, and she stopped. " Thank you."

She turned around, eyebrows raised, and he smiled cheekily.

" Or should I say. . .Merci." he said.

Blushing, she turned away. " Correct." she muttered before walking off, hoping that her flaming cheeks would recede, that she would control her lips from forming into a small smile.

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Ren sat at his desk, anger and confusion boiling up inside him. Sure, he thought he knew what Hao's plan was. Hell, he even kept the secret confined within himself; not even telling Bason or Pirika. But somehow something inside told him that Hao's simple idea of matchmaking Yoh and Anna was not as simple as it seemed on the outside. He picked up a pen at his desk and twirled it within his fingers, the frown on his forehead deepening with every passing second. There were blatant possibilities that Hao wanted what Ren thought he wanted; like near the start of it all where Anna told everyone how she was able to make Hao massage her back.

**(AUTHOR'S NOTE: Chapter 1)**

FLASHBACK

_" Yes. . ." she said, flinching as Yoh's grip increased. " He wanted to invite me to join his group of. . .somethings. He said he would do anything for me if I did, and I told him all I wanted was a good back rub."_

_They stared at her, slack-jawed._

_" And did you. . .?" Manta asked._

_" Don't be stupid." she snapped. " I told him he didn't do it well enough, and would not agree. He offered to do it once more, but I told him I had better things to do. Then he said that he loved me. . ."_

_" HE SAID HE LOVED YOU?" the others gasped, and Yoh's grip tightened, if possible, even more._

_" Yes. . .Yoh, would you relax?. . .And I told him I had no interest in him, so he just smiled and left. Nothing to fuss about."_

END FLASHBACK

Hao clearly wanted Anna to follow him, and that he still loved her. Ren noticed Hao's deep craving for one of his best friends' fiancee along the way, and he was sure that Hao would not be willing to let Yoh and Anna come together. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Then his eyes widened. Hao had successfully managed to make Yoh and Anna quarrel two times; both being huge arguments. Although this could be part of his small plan too, he also made Ren flirt with Anna, Horo have a moment with her. . .

It seemed like they were just chess pieces on Hao's chessboard.

Ren got to his feet, breathing hard as though he had been running. He finally knew what Hao's intentions were. He was going to take Anna away from Yoh. He did not care whatsoever if Yoh and Anna cancelled their engagement; all he wanted was to get Anna in his hands once and for all. Apparently his plan was working; because Anna was fond of him enough to buy him a birthday present. " Hao. . ." he growled, grabbing his coat, opening his closet doors and reached in, grabbing the family heirloom; the antique sword.

" We're going, Bason." he hissed, and Bason appeared behind him.

" Where to, master?" he asked, confused.

" We're going to war with the devil himself." Ren whispered, glaring at the sky.

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Hao lifted his knight and planted it near Opacho's king.

" Checkmate." he said.

It was at that moment when the sky suddenly seemed to darken; dark clouds swirling above his house, hate seeming to envelope the entire area that he was in. Hao got to his feet, the smile still on his face. " Go inside, Opacho." he said. " We have guests that I do not want you to meet."

Scrambling inside, Opacho shut the door behind him. It was just as the doors locked shut when a lone figure appeared before Hao, his sword in his hand, an expression on his face so menacing that the very air around him seemed to blacken and die. Hao sighed and took a step towards him. But no sooner had he done that, Bason rose behind Ren, glaring angrily at Hao, dislike for him equaling his master. Hao seemed to pause for a moment before his expression stoned. " What's the meaning of this, Ren?" he asked.

" I think you should ask yourself that, Hao." Ren growled, brandishing his sword. " The whole idea of bringing Yoh and Anna was total rubbish wasn't it?"

" I. . .don't know what you're saying." Hao said quietly.

" All that crap about being a good brother didn't fool me, Hao." Ren sneered. " I always knew that it was strange of you to suddenly want to help Yoh when it dawned to me. . .you wanted to take Anna away from Yoh."

There was a strange light that danced in Hao's eyes.

" Is that what you assume?" Hao whispered.

" That is what I know." Ren snarled, pointing his sword at Hao.

" Which is why you're going to fight me?" Hao asked, his lips twitching.

" I don't see you denying my claim." Ren hissed.

" I don't need to." Hao said, his hand raising, a small hint of fire emitting from it. " What you're speaking of is just rubbish that you choose to believe."

" Shut the Hell up." Ren whispered.

" Make me." Hao said.

With that, Ren burst towards Hao, slashing his sword in Hao's direction, but Hao dodged it effortlessly, before catching the tip within his hands. " You know. . ." he said, enjoying the look of amazement and hate in Ren's eyes. " I could just simply break this piece of junk that you call a Tao heirloom. But I pity you enough for that, so. . ." he swung Ren away, his back hitting the wall behind him, crumpling to the ground in a heap. " When did you ever suppose that you could defeat me?" he asked Ren. " The only person that comes close to beating me is Jeanne or Anna, and neither of them has ever been able to get a scratch on me before."

" Anna has. . ." Ren gasped, struggling to his feet. " How. . .many. . .times. . .has. . .she slapped you. . .before?" he panted. It was sheer pride and will that he was able to stay conscious and on his feet. At that moment, rain started to fall in buckets, and Hao looked up, smiling.

" That's true." he said lightly.

Ren glared at him and dashed towards him, catching him by surprise. Hao gasped as Ren's blade cut into his cloak, the front buttons coming off, the remains of the cloak landing in a heap on the ground. Hao looked at it before looking at Ren, a flicker of irritation now dancing in his eyes. " You just never know when to give up, don't you?" he hissed, snapping his fingers, his Spirit of Fire towering behind him. " What's spurring you on?"

" My friendship with Yoh and my respect for Anna." Ren growled.

" Admirable." Hao said, nodding his head. " I always knew you were a good friend."

" As you are as a good brother?" Ren said.

This time it was not irritation, but it was anger.

Hao grabbed Ren by the collar, hate dwelling deep in his eyes. " If you don't know anything about me." he hissed. " Then just shut the Hell up."

" Oh. . .yeah?" Ren said, struggling to keep focused. " Says you and what army?"

Hao smirked and lit a small fire near Ren's throat, enjoying the sound of his gasping in pain. " You're scared, Ren." he said. " I know every single thought that's going through your head right now. You're angry at me. You're afraid of Anna. You're sorry for Yoh. And. . .you're worried for Pirika."

Ren's eyes snapped open.

" I knew that would get a reaction somehow." Hao said smugly. " You're afraid of dying here. Afraid of me killing you. Afraid of what Pirika would say if you. . ."

" SHUT UP!" Ren roared, throwing a punch at Hao aimlessly, missing, and Hao kicked Ren in the stomach, Ren flying backwards onto the floor, the rain falling down on him like pebbles from the sky.

Hao looked up and shut his eyes, allowing the rain to pour down on his face. " Come to think of it. . ." he whispered. " It was raining when I first met her too."

Ren opened a strained eye.

" You. . .weren't lying in the coffeeshop." Ren choked.

" I do not lie, Ren." Hao said.

" So you were telling the truth when you claimed to want Yoh and Anna to end up together?"

Hao kicked Ren painfully in the ribs and he gasped out, clutching his sides. " Just so you know. . ." Hao said pleasantly, like inviting a new friend to a birthday party. " Anna had the same characteristics as she did when she was just a kid. Reluctant to listen to orders, silent, beautiful. . .and to tell you the truth, rather spoilt."

" And what does that have to do with me?" Ren asked, struggling to get up.

" Nothing much, once I think about it." Hao said. " I just thought you would be interested in that, that's all."

" You. . .and your. . .twisted logic." Ren panted.

" If you would just care to listen to what I have to say to you," Hao said. " You would know that I am clearly on your side."

" You were always good at playing with words." Ren snarled.

" That I do not deny." Hao said, grinning broadly.

" And I will not be swindled into believing your lies."

" They are not lies, my dear Ren." Hao said, picking up Ren's sword and stabbing it in the shirt not far from his neck. Ren let out a gasp of breath at the dangerously close sword to his neck. " Now that you are unable to move," Hao said calmly. " I will have you listen to everything I have to tell you."

" Bok-chamma!" Bason shouted.

Ren glared at Hao.

Hao's face remained emotionless.

Ren shut his eyes before sighing.

" And. . .what would that. . .be?" he asked in defeat.

Hao smirked.

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It was around nine at the night when Hao and Ren entered Yoh's house. Yoh raised his eyebrows at the sight of them. " Wow, who spoilt their clocks?"

" Just went out for a talk, Yoh." Ren said wearily, sitting himself down on the couch.

" Indeed." Hao said.

Anna looked over the book she was reading and noticed that there were bruises all over their faces. " Where did you talk in? A rowdy bar?" she questioned.

" Sharp as always, Anna." Hao applauded.

" We just had a tiff, that's all." Ren said.

" Yeah," hao said, catching Ren's eyes and grinned. " Just a tiff."

Unknowingly, Ren grinned back.

" But we're alright now." he said.

" Quite correct." hao muttered. " Quite correct."

Yoh looked at Anna.

Anna looked at Yoh.

There was a sense of knowing that seemed to pass through the both of them when the two of them came to the same resolute point and motion.

They both shrugged.

END CHAPTER 17

So sorry to everyone who had to wait for around a month for my newest chapter! Hopefully the twist in the story would entice you a bit! Is Hao a friend or a foe? Is he trying to help Yoh or take Anna away? We'll find out in the following chapters to come. Not really surprised at all that in my vote Anna and Yoh reign supreme as the most favourite couple. However, Hao and Anna received a surprising amount of votes; even I did not expect so many of you to like these two. Chapter 19 will be up faster that this chapter was up, I promise the whole lot of you! Deal? This chapter did not have so much romance in it, but I promise that chapter 19 will be full of it! Well then, please look foward to chapter 19!


	18. Shall we begin?

Chapter 18 is up and at them. Sorry about the chapter 19 mistake; I'm hoping I could get away with that by saying that it could happen to anyone. Darn, am I one unsmooth talker. Anyway, back to the news ahead of me. I have a MAJOR case of writer's block. I had to take up a huge amount of my time just to come up with this chapter, so please enjoy it! As promised, there is more romance in this than the other. Please, read and review me! The end of this story is about to come. I'm thinking of making a sequel for this. . .I'll keep you all updated about it.

CHAPTER 18

_It was raining._

_The droplets fell from the sky like evaporated, wet needles; hard enough to sting, yet soft enough to soak through the undergarments. Yet, through the ferocity of the weather, a young boy of not more that nine walked along the narrow passageway with ease; the rain somehow seeming to gently bounce off him gracefully. He smiled softly, humming a soft tune to himself when he stopped in mid-step._

_There was someone blocking the road._

" Hao-sama?" came Opacho's cautious voice from behind him.

Hao turned, his eyebrows raised, changing his attention from the window to his small friend. " What is it?" he asked kindly.

" Nothing. . ." Opacho said, pausing for a moment. " I thought you seemed. . .troubled."

" I'm just deep in thought, Opacho." Hao said, chuckling. " Now, if you don't mind, I would like to be alone for a while."

" Certainly. . ." Hao's little friend said, before walking out of the room, in which Hao looked out the window once again at the pouring rain outside. " It was raining when we first met," he muttered to himself. That was what he had told Ren just three days ago. He never really remembered what had happened that day; but ever since he mentioned it in the café, the whole scene just kept playing over and over in his mind. " It was pouring buckets. . ." he whispered softly. " And she was standing there like an angel from Hell."

A crash of lightning flashed across the sky.

Hao smiled.

_A girl stood in the middle of the road, an umbrella in her hand, looking up at the sky in dazed wonderment. There was something distinctly childish about her; yet there was something also utterly magnificant about her. She was like a frosted ice maiden; pale and unblemished, not suitable to be touched. He took an obvious step towards her, and her gaze fell onto his. Immediately he could feel an unnamed air dispersing around her, and despite how strong he already was at that age, he could not help but feel a slight bit of fear for this child._

" _Strayed away from your mother?" he asked kindly, almost to an extent of mocking._

_She did not answer, but continued to watch him._

_There was something different about this girl. She was young and old at the same time; an ageless wonderment that stood before him. They were barely a meter apart from each other when he stopped in his steps. _

_And her watchful eyes stayed on him. _

" _It's too dangerous for a young girl like you to be alone with this weather." he said cheerfully._

" _Neither is it time for young boys to play outside." she rebuted calmly._

_A flicker of amusement danced in his eyes. _

" _Is that all you wanted to tell me?" she snapped._

" _Are you in a rush?" he asked._

" _No." she said. _

_He read her mind fairly easily. " You're waiting to pick up a cousin, and this is your meeting place." he said, and she spun around to look at him, eyes wide._

" _What's your name?" he asked, taking yet another step towards her._

" _Who needs to know?" she said._

" _I do." he said calmly. " Now, if you may, would you tell me?"_

_It was as she opened her mouth to speak when the memory in his head went blank. _

Hao opened his eyes, yet again and sighed miserably.

" Damn." he muttered under his breath.

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" Alright now," Anna said impatiently. " Let's try it again, shall we?"

Yoh sighed and nodded his head, peeking slightly at the clock that was hung on his wall. It was already midnight, and Anna had been teaching him continuously from the end of dinner. You would think she would be as sick of French as much as he was at the moment by now. " Yes, Anna." he muttered under his breath, trying desperately to keep his eyes open. He was concentrating so hard on acting awake that he didn't notice Anna's eyes on him. She looked at him thoughtfully, snapping the book shut, making him jump.

He blinked.

" Anna. . .?" he asked doubtfully.

" You seem tired." she said flatly, still not turning around to face him. " Go and have a quick bath. I'll wait here for you."

His eyes widened before smiling gratefully.

" Merci." he said, before running out, shutting the door behind him.

She let out a depressed smile. " Well, at least he got **one** word right." she muttered, crossing her arms across her chest before falling down to her feet, sighing. " Damn, I'm tired too." she yawned, rubbing her eyes. Outside, there Yoh stood, taking in every word, watching her figure slouch forward through the translucent sliding door that separated the two of them from each other. His fingers grazed the area where her head was, and patted the air fondly before running off for the showers. " I love you too, Anna." he whispered; eyes tearing.

And he knew that there was another reason for that besides sleepiness.

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The next day came soon enough, and the two tired teens entered the exam hall restlessly. Ren and Hao walked up to the group, grins on the both of their faces. " Good morning." Hao said cheerfully, taking the seat next to Yoh, before looking at him and stepped back, shocked. " Damn, what party did I miss?" he asked.

" Bite me." Yoh muttered, slapping his face to stay awake.

" You **do** know that you can make Anna do that for you voluntarily." Ren said, and Hao chuckled. " Were the two of you up all night studying for the test today?" Hao asked, leaning on his brother's shoulder.

" Not her, me." Yoh said listlessly.

Hao blinked.

" Sorry, didn't catch that." he said.

" She was teaching me all the way through the night." Yoh said, managing a smile.

Hao's eyes widened before grinning.

" Is that so. . .?" he said softly.

" Enter the class, everyone!" came the piercing yell of the teacher at the front door; and the students winced. Yoh sighed and was ready to enter when he found Anna standing by the door and he stopped. She met eyes with him for a moment and smiled warmly, and he found himself melting in a puddle at his feet.

" Don't stress yourself too much." she said. " Just do your best."

" Y. . .Yes, Anna." he said meekly.

She gave him one last smile before walking off.

Yoh bit his lip and clenched his fists. " I'm going to top the class." he muttered under his breath. " I'm going to top the level if I have to!"

Hao smiled to himself.

" I'll like to see you try." he muttered under his breath.

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Yoh was forced to admit that he would not do as well as he expected. Or **hoped** to expect, in any means. Somehow, the questions just did not agree with him; like baggy pants going with a polka-dotted shirt, or Ann and Yoh deciding on what television programme to watch. But nevertheless, he was confident of at least scraping a pass, and that was good enough for a person like him. He handed his examination paper to the examiner rather tiredly, managing a sheepish smile in which the teacher did not return.

" So how did you do, Asakura?" he said gruffly. " One more fail and I'm afraid I'm going to have to make you drop the subject. Your grades for the past three semesters are preposterous."

" I think I did. . .alright." Yoh said sheepishly.

The teacher, Seika, looked at him thoughtfully before crossing his arms across his chest. " Asakura, you're not a bad kid." he said, after what seemed to be much thought. " You don't disrupt the class in any way. . .it's just that you're incapable of scoring distinctions for this grade. Perhaps you would be better off in another class. . .maybe German or something?"

" Sorry, sensei." Yoh said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. " I don't think I can."

" Asakura. . ." Seika said, rather sternly.

" Besides," Yoh said, turning around to walk away. " It would be wasting Anna's time last night teaching me, won't it?"

Seika's eyes widened. " Anna. . .?" he asked.

Yoh turned around to face him and smiled. " Yeah. That's why I can't drop the subject."

With that he walked out the room.

Seika just stared at the area where Yoh previously stood before sighing. " That girl Anna. . ." he chuckled softly. " She's not as cold as she appears to be after all."

" You got that right, sensei." came two voice behind him.

He turned, and there stood Ren and Hao, smirks on their faces.

" Can we speak to you for a moment?" Ren said, hands on his hips.

" It'll only take a short moment, we promise you." Hao said, smirking.

And Seika agreed.

Heck, he knew he would be forced to even if he disagreed anyway.

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" So how do you think you did, Yoh?" Anna said sternly. She, and Yoh were alone in the dining room; eating the dinner that Manta was preparing inside the kitchen.

" I did alright, I guess." Yoh said, grinning. " In fact. . .thanks, Manta. . ." he said to Manta who just appeared from inside the kitchen with fish, chicken and noodles. " . . .I think I might just be able to pass this one."

" What are you guys talking about?" Manta asked, sitting himself down on a chair next to Yoh.

" My exam results." Yoh said as calmly as a person could be with his mouth bulging with teriyaki.

" Which reminds me!" Manta exclaimed. " Anna. . .the tapes of your soap operas are on top of your wardrobe. I recorded them for you when- - -"

" Thank you, Manta." Anna cut in, blushing.

Yoh's eyes widened.

He had totally forgotten about Anna's soap operas.

Did she. . .miss them. . .just to teach him?

" Anna. . ." he said softly.

Just at that moment, the door burst open and there stood Hao and Ren, grim looks on their faces. The three at the dining table knew at once that this was not going to be pleasant. The two of them exchanged glances before turning their attention to Yoh; looks of pity and sympathy on their faces. " Yoh. . ." Hao said, scratching the back of his head uncomfortably. " There's something that I need to talk to you. . .in private."

" What is it?" Anna snapped, curious. " What's going on?"

" Yoh?" Hao said, rather firmly. " Come outside."

" What is going on here?" Anna said sternly, getting to her feet; which was never a good sign.

" You'd be better off without knowing." Ren said quietly. " Yoh, would you. . ."

" **Tell me**, or I'll jam these chopsticks in my hand down your throat." Anna said menacingly.

Hao and Ren looked at each other.

They looked at Manta.

They looked at Anna.

Then they looked at Yoh.

" Yoh!" Ren said, in a falsely bright tone. " I have GREAT news that I want to tell you!"

" I'm not buying it, Hao." Anna growled. " Tell me."

" You know, Anna. . ." Hao said placidly. " In a world of time and difference. . ."

" Say it here, brother." Yoh said quickly at the look in Anna's eyes.

Ren and Hao looked at each other one last time before sighing and looking at Yoh. " You failed the French test, Yoh." Hao said, rather pitifully. " It looks like you're going to have to drop the subject."

You could have dropped the hole of a doughnut on the ground and it wouldn't have gone unnoticed.

" What?" Anna asked in disbelief.

Manta's eyes were bug-wide with amazement, but neither his nor Anna's expressions could match the look of shock and sadness on Yoh's. He just stared at Hao and Ren for a full minute before finally seeming to grasp the fact of the matter. " I. . ." he said slowly. " . . .Failed."

Hao and Ren said nothing but nodded their heads.

The whole room seemed to swirl; and Yoh would have swayed to the spot if it were not for pride and the fact that he had very strong kneecaps thanks to Anna. Anna. Right. Anna. Yoh turned and looked at Anna; and there was not anger and hate in them, but disappointment and was looking back at him like he was a. . .

" Failure." Hao muttered. " Failing isn't everything. Maybe you could pick up German or something."

" That's not the reason why. . ." Yoh started, but shut his eyes and walked out of the dining table. He stepped past Hao, and for that mere second, Hao heard one thought whisk through his head.

_I've disappointed Anna. . .once again._

Hao turned to look at his brother before looking down at his feet.

He smirked.

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Yoh felt cold.

Not only because of the frozen cold weather; but his heart just felt empty, like someone had thrown an ice cube down his throat in one swift moment. Sitting down at the cold, front steps of his house was obviously a stupid thing to do at this time of the day. He hugged his knees and shivered. " So Anna wasted one whole night on me," he whispered through his gritted teeth. " She ignored her tiredness and sitcoms for me just for this night and I. . ." he started before burying his face in his hands.

" Don't flatter yourself." came a cold voice from behind him. He jumped and turned around, his eyes widening at who he saw. " Anna. . ." he said softly.

She sat down next to him, refusing to meet eye contact with him. " I'm not the sort of person who ignores my own needs just for the sake of my useless and dense. . .and **extremely** useless fiancee." she said curtly, and he managed a sheepish smile. " I just felt like being with you at that time. . .that's all." she said, a small blush appearing on the traces of her cheeks and Yoh's eyes widened.

Then he smiled.

" Oh, don't grin at me." she snapped, face flushed, as she got up and made her way to the house before she stopped. She turned around and her eyes and Yoh's eyes met. " You're coming too, aren't you?"

" Yes!" he said happily.

Ren and Hao watched them before smirking at each other.

" So they've had their moment. . ." Ren said. " Shall we begin now?"

Hao smiled.

" Yes." he said. " Let's."

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" A party?"

" Why not?" Hao said excitedly to Yoh, slapping his brother cheerfully on the back. " It's almost the end of the year. . .might as well blow off some steam at the finish of it! Come on, we could hold it at your house! What do you say, big guy? Is anyone in this with me?"

" I'm not." Anna snapped. Her, Hao, Yoh, Ren, Horo and Lyserg were hanging out at the coffeehouse once again, discussing the new politics. In other words, the possibility of having a party in Yoh's house, as such was previously mentioned. " This is my house, and I make the decisions here."

" Awwwwwwww. . . . . ." Horo moaned, in a voice so squeakily high and long that the sure balance of it was already impossible and the others stared at him in. . .well. . .awe. " Anna! Why are you always such a spoilsport? Wasn't the party of Yoh's birthday great?"

" No it wasn't." Anna snapped. " It was when it was noisy. . .loud. . .irritating. . .AND it was when I found you snooping on the girls showering!"

" You what?" Yoh asked Horo incredulously.

" Horo, I am appalled." Hao said, lips twitching. " What on earth egged you on to do that?"

Horo glared at him venomously.

" Were you always such a horny prick, Horo?" Ren asked calmly.

" Ren!" Horo growled. " If you don't shut up, I'll. . ."

" What?" Hao poked. " Watch him shower?"

" How dreadful." Ren said, shivering.

And through Horo's yelling and the laughing of Hao, Yoh turned to Anna smilingly. " Why don't we have a party, Anna?" he said, shrugging. " It sounds like fun."

" Oh, not you too." Anna groaned.

" Listen to me," Yoh said persistently, bowing his head slightly to prevent himself from being hit by the face by the block of ice that Horo had hurled at Hao. " You were always silently popular with the students at the school. The reason why you were never openly popular because they didn't dare to approach you because they thought you were stuck up, which you clearly aren't."

" I don't care what others think of me." Anna said carelessly, leaning back to prevent her head from being in range of Ho

ro's huge arm cannons.

" But I do." Yoh said firmly.

Anna stopped and stared at Yoh.

" I think it would be lovely." Lyserg said pleasantly, who had been quiet the whole time.

Yoh smiled at her. " What do you say to it?" he said.

She bit her lip and sighed.

" Alright." she said in resignation. " As long as I don't have to clean up afterwards."

" Done." Yoh said happily, bending his neck slightly as three huge fire bolts whizzed past his neck. " You'll love it. I promise you. At least this gives you a chance to make new friends."

" On the last day of school?" Anna said, eyebrows raised as she shifted her seat to avoid being pierced to death by Ren's blades.

" Why not?" Yoh said, jumping to a different chair as the one he had sat on was smashed to pieces. " It's always fun to make news friends; even for just one day."

" Whatever." Anna said, before rolling her eyes at the sight of Ren, Hao and Horo. " Shall we stop them?"

" Alright." Yoh said, smiling. " Lyserg?"

" I'm on it." Lyserg said, getting up, Morphine appearing behind him.

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A young boy and a young girl walked along the road calmly, a book in each of their hands. " It's raining, sister." the boy said placidly, looking up at the sky. The girl lifted out her hand, and a rain droplet fell in the palm of her hand. " Ah." she said quietly. " So it is. My sincere apologies."

" What are you saying sorry for?" he said wirily. " It's not like you can control the weather."

" Right." the girl said. " I guess you're right."

The boy looked at his watch. " It's five minutes to eleven." He said, eyebrows raised. " Might have been earlier than I thought, but I think he will still be at home, don't you think?"

" Who knows?" the girl said, shrugging.

The boy grinned.

" Right," he said, his hands in his pockets; the two of them continuing to their unknown destination. " Who knows?"

And they said nothing more.

END CHAPTER 18

Well, this one certainly killed me. I tell you, it's getting harder and harder to come up with chapters. Either I'm running of ideas or I have too many. I'm sincerely hoping it's the second option that's my problem. I might have to come up with seven or ten more chapters for this. Sorry if that causes several of you to blink in confusion, but I like to end stories with full numbers, or half. 25, or 30. 35 or 40. You get the idea of it. I'll try my best to come up with the next chapter in two weeks. Ice Cream Boy is in the works, I promise you. Anyway, please read and review! Chapter 19 will be up in what I hope will be no time.


	19. Entrance: Sumiko and Ejio

Chapter 19 is here and up for grabs. This was almost as tiring as the one before; but it was slightly more relaxing I guess. Here's the beginning of the turning point of the story. Please enjoy. Added Hao X Sumiko to the poll. Those who wish to vote for the two of them, please visit my website at my profile. Yoh and Anna reign supreme with 69 votes! Congratulation to this happy couple! However, scaing me out of my wits is Hao and Anna, who slipped last with just 60 votes! WOW! They're almost beating the happy couples with less than 10 votes! Third is Ren and Pirika with two, and surprising me out of my wits, Ren and Anna with one. Alright, since Sumiko is added to the story, please vote again at the end of this chapter. Sorry for the inconvenience, but thanks to all for voting! Here's chapter 19. Thanks.

CHAPTER 19

" Why are we here, sister?" the boy asked the girl as they crossed the sidewalk to make their way to Hao's apartment. The rain had more or less stopped; but there was a swirl of dark atmosphere that surrounded a particular house. And that obviously was of the owning of a particular suave-looking Asakura. And I'm not talking about Yoh, if you still have doubts.

" Kino was worried of Hao's cunning, and she thought he would try to steal Anna from Yoh." the girl said calmly, pulling out a lemon from inside her purse and began sucking it quietly.

" Oh yes," the boy said. " Of course."

They reached the apartment and stopped in their footsteps.

" Should we knock?" the boy asked.

" There will be no need." the girl said professionally, pulling out a dart from inside her pocket and flung it at the door of the house. No sooner had it reached less than a meter from the house; it burst into a gulf of flames and fried to a crisp on the spot. " Impressive." she muttered.

" Thank you." came the voice from the middle of the flames. " It's a gift." The flames disappeared and there stood Hao Asakura surrounded by a pile of ashes. He looked at the two of their solemn faces and scratched the back of his head. " That's weird." he said to himself. " That's the first time that act didn't get any applause or even a glare. . .not even a reproachful stare."

" Did out reaction anger you, sir?" the boy said.

" Not at all." Hao said, beaming, taking another step towards the both of them. " Now what can I do to help you? Not that I'm curious in any way why the two of you are attempting to attack my doors at this time of the night."

" Do you know who Kino is?" the girl said emotionlessly.

Hao raised his eyebrows. " Yes." he said.

" She wanted us to give you this letter." she said, handing it to him, in which he took it with a single hand. He looked at it for a minute before opening it. " _Sorry to disturb you at this time of the night_," he read out loud. " _But I have an urgent message to send to you. In light of the certain difficult times that these two children of your same age have, I have decided to enlist them under your care. I will repay you for this someday. But for the meantime until I can make further arrangements, this will be the case for the time being. Sorry if this troubled you in any way. . .Kino." _

Hao looked bewilderedly at the two of them in front of him before burning the letter in his hand. " What are your names?" he asked.

" We do not wish to disclose them, if you do not mind." the boy said flatly.

Hao blinked. " Say what?" he said.

" We do not have real names." the girl said. " We are mediums. . .and live under names which we were never officially appointed by. However, if forced to be known by them, he is by the name Ejio, and me by the name Sumiko."

" Ejio. . .and Sumiko. . ." Hao said, tasting the names on his tongue before sighing in defeat. " Well, I guess I could take care of the two of you until. . .further arrangements are made." he finished lamely. The two of them just stared back at him with dull eyes and he sighed. _Damn these two are creepy. _He thought, shivering. " Come on, follow me. I can show you to your rooms. I hope you don't mind sharing."

" Not at all." the boy said.

The girl just watched him leave before sighing. " They're all the same." she said before walking in after her brother. " Every single one of them is always the same. . ."

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Yoh scratched his head.

" Hurry up, I don't have all day." Anna snapped, slapping him on the back of his head. " It isn't that hard to decide; just choose which subject you want to take after the failed French. German, Higher Japanese, Chinese, Dutch. . .whatever you want. Just get something you know you wouldn't fail."

Yoh raised his eyebrows at her.

" . . .Or, you wouldn't fail as bad as French." she said.

" That's better." he said cheerfully, picking up the pamphlet once again. " Hey, what about Latin? That sounds pretty alright."

" That's the world's most dead language, Yoh." Anna said crankily, slapping him on the back of his head again before looking at the clock and groaning. " It's been two hours, Yoh." she said. " Why can't you make a suitable and confirmed decision?"

" Sorry." he muttered.

" Still, I can't believe you failed the subject." Anna muttered under her breath.

" What?" Yoh asked, looking up.

It was then when her eyes widened.

" Hold on," she said. " Did you check with the teacher about this?"

" Nope." Yoh said. " I trust my brother and Ren. Why?"

Anna frowned.

" I don't trust Hao." she said.

" Don't you trust Ren?" he said.

She smiled and sighed at that.

" Yeah." she said finally. " I guess I do."

" Then leave it." he said, getting back to the pamphlet.

She frowned, once again.

Somehow, she still wasn't sure.

Somehow.

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" What? You're a nanny?"

Hao glared at Ren. Him and Ren were sitting inside the coffeeshop once again. After paying for the damages that they inflicted in the shop, they were asked to sign an agreement to pay thrice on everything they destroyed; ranging from a dinner plate to a person's face. " I'm not a nanny, you unknowing moron," Hao said angrily. " I was just assigned by Kino to take care of them for a short while until she can find proper guardians for them."

" It's pretty odd that she would choose you to do it, don't you think?" Ren said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. " I mean, you're not as close to her as much as Yoh is, right?"

" Maybe Kino is afraid that Anna would scare the children." Hao said.

" They're our same age, you moron." Ren said, rolling his eyes. " And even if Kino is afraid Anna would pulverize the two kids you are taking care of, she would still trust Yoh over you. I think she has an ulterior motive."

" Really?" Hao muttered, taking a sip of coffee.

A couple walked past them, and Ren waited until they had sat down three tables away from them when Ren nodded his head. " Positively." he said darkly.

" Then do you think she knows about our plan?" Hao asked with raised eyebrows.

" I don't think so." Ren said, scratching his head. " She's not one to prod into other's affairs, isn't she?"

" If she isn't, then you just discriminated what you said previously." Hao said, lips twitching.

Silence.

" So what do you want to do about this?" Ren said sulkily.

" I don't know." Hao said, seriously this time. " If what you said is really true, then she couldn't have sent them here at a worse time. Not when we're just planning to begin."

Ren nodded before glaring at the coffee before him.

" Shall we continue?" he muttered.

Hao took one final sip of coffee before placing it down on the saucer again.

" Yeah." he said.

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" Hao's cunning, that's one thing we were told." Sumiko said calmly, looking at her brother serenely. He nodded and pulled out a bag of dice and started stacking them one atop of each other calmly. " That's the first thing that Kino told us." he said quietly. " The second thing that was known to us was that he is after Anna. That's something that we have to stop him from doing. I don't think that would be hard to do."

" Don't underestimate the enemy, Ejio." she said.

" Don't underestimate yourself, Sumiko." he answered flatly.

She nodded to herself and got to her feet as her brother lifted the dice to the fifth layer.

" Why do you like to stack things so much, Ejio?" she said.

" One, it helps me to think better, and two, I'm bored." he said flatly. " I have no friends."

" Neither do I." she answered.

" But you're beautiful." Ejio said. " You're pretty, and guys from all over want you to go out with them on dates. Girls like you because you're smart and cool. I'm just the kid tagging along with his sister who they try to ditch halfway while in the process of hoping to bag you."

" Look who's underestimating themselves now?" she said quietly, patting her brother's head. He said nothing. For a moment, a small act of love seemed to pass between the two before she sat down, and he started stacking the sixth layer of dice.

" Hao tried bringing Anna in." Ejio said, picking up another dice.

" Check." Sumiko said sullenly. " He also caused several troubles between her and Yoh."

" But there has been no concrete evidence of the fact that it was indeed him that caused it." he said, almost to himself, as he piled up another layer of dices above each other.

" You want to catch him in the act?" she said, taking out a lemon and sucked it quietly.

" Too risky." he said. " I want to stop him before he even starts."

" Too hard." she said, drying the lemon before starting on another. " I think we should check out on step of his profile before going onto the next. Start after he begins."

" You mean lay a trap?" he said to her sourly, piling up another layer; being the tenth." That's so unlike you."

" Doing what is not like me is what I do to be like me." she said.

" That's true." he said quietly, laying the thirteenth layer before he stopped. She drew the lemon out of her mouth; the two of them staring at the door for a second before looking at each other. In a second she had kept the lemon back into her pouch, and he hit down the layers of dice; it scattering on the floor everywhere. Just as they took out books; feigning to read, the sliding door opened and there stood Hao, a grin on his face.

" Afternoon!" he greeted. " I just stopped by to ask you if you two had any plans this afternoon."

They raised their eyebrows at each other before looking back at him.

" No." they both said.

" Good." Hao said. " Want to go out for a meal?"

They looked at each other before looking back at him.

" Alright." they said.

Hao beamed before noticing the dice scattered all across the floor.

" I'll clean it up later." Ejio said.

" Thanks." Hao said, rolling his eyes.

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Seika looked at his watch.

" It's two." he muttered to himself. " Looks like it's time for me to do for lunch." He removed the glasses from his eyes and was about to leave from his desk when he stopped and sat back down. He sighed. " I was expecting you to come to look for me sooner or later, Anna." he said.

She closed his office door behind her and removed the beads from her neck. " As expected from the great retired Seika." she said, managing a smirk on her face.

" I'm still a teacher, Anna." he said lightly.

" You used to be a shaman, sir." she said, making her way across his office until she was standing directly opposite away from him. She put her hand on his desk. " You should remember that rather clearly."

" I might." he said, lips twitching. " I suppose you're here to talk to me about Yoh's abysmal grades?" he added, slightly more shrewdly now.

" Yes," she said, gripping the beads in her hand more tightly now.

" It's not the end of the world," he said. " There's plenty more-"

His words were cut off by the snapping of her beads on his table. On her face was a forced smile; yet the strain marks near her mouth were a dead giveaway. He gulped as she placed her hand on the table. " Sensei, I want you to tell me the truth." she said, in mock sweetness. " The** entire** truth."

He gulped.

Students these days were getting more and more ferocious.

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" Hao? Hao? Hao?" Opacho asked into the receiver of the telephone.

Yoh grinned sheepishly. " You know, Opacho," he said, speaking to Hao's little friend on the other line. " By the way you were speaking previously, you sounded distinctly like a Chinese Santa Clause."

" Oh, it's Yoh." Opacho said glumly. " Do you know where's Hao?"

" Yeah, he asked me to call you to tell you where he was." Yoh said matter-of-factly. " He said he was eating lunch with a couple of friends, and told you not to worry."

" Oh." Opacho said gloomily. " I thought that would mean Ren and the others."

" Ren?" Yoh asked curiously. " Why Ren?"

" The two of them have been really close lately; I just assumed they would be out together again." Opacho said. Depression seemed to be swarming the poor little fella.

" Oh." Yoh said. " I see. See you around some time, Opacho."

" Goodbye." Opacho said, before hanging up.

Yoh put down the phone, a frown appearing between his eyes.

" Hao and Ren. . ." he muttered.

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" So where were you two brought up?" Hao asked curiously.

Him, Sumiko and Ejio were sitting in a nearby diner. Hao thought it was the perfect time to see whether they were really against him or not. This, to them, was the perfect time to act like they were on his side, and that they were just two ordinary children with unpromising pasts. They knew that Hao was not one that would be easily lied to. Plus, not to mention the fact that they were told that he could read minds at the flip of a dime did not exactly make it any much easier.

" In Tokyo." Ejio said plainly, eating his fifth chicken wing, and stacked it above many of the other chicken wing bones in a small pile before him. Hao raised his eyebrows.

" That's his pastime." Sumiko interrupted Hao before he even had time to say anything. " That's what he does to make up for the time when he's bored."

_It also helps me to think better. _Hao heard Ejio think.

Hao smirked to himself as he read that thought but hid it quickly as her food came. He raised his eyebrows as nothing but a stack of lemons came to the table and he looked at her once more.

" That's all my sister eats." Ejio said.

" I see." Hao said, scratching the back of his head. Honestly speaking, he was not sure if the two of them were experts or whether they were just plain weirdos whose parents abandoned them. Not that he blamed them at this point of time, anyway. The boy had white, wispy hair, looking old and young at the exact same time. He wore clothes of black beyond black; his eyes cold, dead, and emotionless. Sumiko had dark brown hair that went beyond her shoulders; her clothes like her brother of entire black, right down from her shirt to the very soles of her shoes. But she was beautiful. Hao was forced to admit that despite her frosty appearance, she was still very pretty.

" You didn't tell us anything about yourself." she said calmly, sucking on a lemon. " Did you have any relationships in the past?"

" Not really." he said cheerfully. " I'm swinging single and always will be."

_Flirt._ He heard Ejio think, and he looked up to meet his eyes, but he looked away.

" I guess that means you aren't chasing any women at the moment?" Sumiko said.

He smiled softly.

She phrased the question very well.

He was almost fooled by her at that moment; it was a two-sided question.

" No I'm not." he said, and Ejio looked up, frowning. " Why so interested? Are you in love with me or something?"

" Would you blame me if I was?" she said silently, and Hao, despite his suaveness and experience with women, was unable to conceal the blush that formed on his cheeks. He shook himself out of it as his bowl of spaghetti came. He frowned as he started to eat as he watched the two of them quietly. So far it was only Ejio's thoughts that he had been able to read; but Sumiko was like an empty void; making it much harder for him to read her mind.

" You sure you don't want some of this spaghetti, Sumiko?" Hao said, desperate to read one of her thoughts. " It must be awfully boring to eat the same food all the time."

" I'm alright." she said lightly.

" I've got a question for you, sir." Ejio said, stacking up the seventh chicken wing, followed quickly by the eighth. " I read about you disrupting the shaman king contest a few years back, and almost murdered your brother in the process. How is the relationship between the two of you now?"

Hao blinked. This certainly was unexpected.

He thought that they would at least ask three more questions before getting in for the big one.

" We're close now." Hao said, smiling.

" Really?" Ejio said, seeming offhandedly as he started to munch his way through another piece of chicken. " Because if it were me. . .I would get angry at him for taking the crown of Shaman King away from me."

" He didn't get crowned Shaman King." Hao said knowledgeably. " Nobody did."

" Still. . ." Ejio said persistently, finishing the wing and propped it above the pile before him. " If it was me. . .I would still be upset with him, despite whatever sort of nice character I had."

" Well, maybe I'm just more forgiving than you are." Hao said, forcing a grin.

" I guess." Ejio said nonchalantly.

Hao gritted his teeth. The two of them obviously had some sort of idea to what he was planning. The thing was, it was not easy to read their minds. Sumiko was almost near impossible, and Ejio, although less resistant than his sister; Hao was still only able to hear some of his thoughts. The only thing Hao knew from him was that Ejio liked to pile things when he was thinking, which at least let him know that Ejio's mind was racking furiously at the moment. He clenched his fist over the fork that was in his hand. So Kino really was suspicious of him. Maybe he could just give it up and tell the facts to the two of them. But would they understand at all? He didn't think so.

" Sumiko," he said, and she looked at him, eyebrows raised. " Which one of you is older, actually? You or your brother?"

" Me." she said. " But just by a few months."

" I see. . ." Hao said.

" Sir?" Ejio said, looking directly at Hao while nibbling on a chicken wing. Hao looked up to meet his eyes. " What are your relationships with Yoh's friends and loved ones like?"

" We're alright." Hao said. " Nothing beyond the normal. Why so curious to know?"

Sumiko bit her lip. So far he was not falling for any of their traps; showing he was more than what Kino warned them that he was. She sucked the lemon dry and placed it on the table gently. " We just wanted to know you better, that's all." she said quietly. " Is that something wrong?"

" N. . .No! No it's not!" Hao stuttered before mentally slapping himself. _Hold on. . .**I'm **stuttering? The king of sex and the master of woman is looking at an orphan the same age as I am and I'm **STUTTERING? **_" I think I need some fresh air." he said, smiling at the two of them. " Let me know if you need anything."

" And we won't hold back." Sumiko said.

He smiled.

" I'll be holding my breath." he said, before walking out the door.

Ejio watched him leave before stacking the tenth chicken wing on top of the many others. " I don't like him." he said flatly. " Everything he does is like an act. There's too much mystery in him."

" You think we should keep a closer watch on him?" she said vaguely.

" I think it's important that we do." he answered pensively.

" He didn't fall for any of our traps though." she said darkly. " All three of them, and he answered without quickening or slowing his pace. You would think he had done this before."

" I believe so." she said.

He placed the twelfth wing on top of the others.

" I'm going to have to spy on him tomorrow." he muttered to himself, chewing the fleshy meat off the thirteenth wing. " Worse comes to worse I would have to fight him if I get found out. With my shamanic abilities, I doubt I would lose to him in man-to-man combat."

" What's that you say?" Sumiko said lazily.

_No turning back._

" Nothing." Ejio muttered, knocking down the thirteen stacked wings down to the table.

END CHAPTER 19

In reply to **Exploded Toilet Bowl**. . .I guess I wouldn't mind if you take several points of my ideas, but I do not like direct copying. Deal? Smiley face Sorry if I sounded harsh. And please put my name in your word of thanks for ideas! I would be really happy and would appreciate it if you do! Alright, in any case, good luck with your story! I'll be sure to read it if you wish me to. Please reply this in your next review to me. Smiles

Thanks to **liftedshadows** for the warning! I'll look out for my mistakes more furtively now!And people want Manta romance? Really? That'll be hard for me to write. Lolz.

Sorry if the chapter is too center on the two orphans. Apologize for that, but I had to introduce them properly. Not to mention having to make tension between Hao and the two of them. Do you like them? I hope you did; I had a lot of fun writing about them. SPOILER! Something will happen to Ejio soon enough. Most probably in the next chapter. Chapter 20 will be back on track with Yoh and the gang. Will Hao still succeed in whatever he's planning now with two professionals against him and on his back? Watch out for chapter 20! Plus, some released tension between Yoh and Anna in the next one soon!


	20. A New Twist To Everything

This is chapter 20 everyone! Sorry for double posting. There was something wrong with the document. Wow, I can't believe we just hit the double-digit mark! Technically we already did when I had chapter 10, but I just feel elated at the moment. Just so you know, this chapter was rewritten twice. Not that I had anything to do with it; my computer just crashed and made me restart the darn thing. Oh well. At least you guys can get DOUBLE the quality eh? I made this chapter longer too, just in case some of you didn't notice. In honor of my second round of the double digit, I finally managed to make a WEBSITE. Squeals with joy It's at my profile under HOMEPAGE. There are polls there, so please vote in as many of them as possible. I will be happy, yup yup yup. ' For those who have voted in my other poll, please vote once again. That was, in you must know, just a temporary draft. The one at my website is real. Sorry for any inconvenience caused! It's still in the process of building, so there are not a lot of stuff there. . .yet. Please check it out if you will, alright? And please sign my guestbook! Thanks! Please read and review! I spent a LOT of time on this one. Smiles I spend a LOOOTTTT of time on this chapter, so please give me a LOOOT of reviews back, okay? Haha. Thank you everyone in advance for reviewing me.

CHAPTER 20

Anna was thinking.

About what, one would not be sure to say. Unless you had the mind-reading skills of Hao Asakura, but that was not really the point here, was it? She seemed deep in thought; her knees crossed, her chin rested between her thumb and second finger, her head cocked towards the window in an almost appraising way. It was when it seemed like she was ready to nod off for second when the door burst open, and there stood Yoh Asakura, a phone in one hand, the other gripped together to form a fist in triumph. " Anna!" he gasped, and she raised her eyebrows. " I've done it!"

" That's great," she said airlessly. " With whom?"

" If I actually **did** cheat on you I would prefer it if you would at least seem jealous." he said, shaking off the disappointed air almost instantly before once again grinning at her. " I just got us movie tickets to the Top Box tonight! It's a Home Movie, and it's banned in Japan due to licensed material but they're playing it just this once for 50 people, and we've got it! We've got tickets to the greatest mastermind of all time!"

" Garry Kasparov?" she said sarcastically, still slightly annoyed at him for breaking the peaceful silence that she had been basking in for the past three hours.

" No," he said, looking affronted. " Hitler: Rise To Evil."

" Is that his full name?" she said, feigning confusion.

" That's the title of the movie." he snapped.

But Anna wasn't listening. " Hmm. . ." she said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. " It's true that we've been cooped up in this house for way too long. . ." she said.

" Yes." he said eagerly.

" It would be awfully nice to smell the nice evening air once again. . ." she went on.

" Yes, it would be lovely." he said, egging her on.

" Yoh, I was thinking. . ." she said, looking up to meet his eyes.

" Yes, Anna?" he said hopefully.

" Do you want to go out for a walk?" she finished, and you could almost see disappointment drop down over his cheerful features.

" H. . .What?" he spluttered.

" Just kidding." she said, smirking, getting to her feet. " You're paying for the popcorn though."

" Like always." he muttered, opening the door for her.

" Like always." she agreed, getting her coat.

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" Good afternoon, Ren." Hao said cheerfully, accepting the coat that Ren had so ungraciously handed over to him. He grunted at the sound of his name and made his way to Hao's study. " By the way, my dear friend," Hao called out, and Ren stopped in mid-step, turning around with raised eyebrows. Usually, these few days, wherever they went they would frequently speak in codes; afraid of being caught by either Sumiko or Ejio.

" There's an elephant in the pantry." Hao said, looking directly at the door of the room they were about to go into. _" Ejio is inside, by the way." Hao meant. _If it had been Sumiko, he would have changed elephant to "mongoose" Knowing the code all too well, Ren nodded and entered cautiously.

" Where's Opacho?" Ren said casually.

" _There's nobody inside." Ren meant._

" He's playing hide-and-seek with the Spirit of Fire." Hao said.

" _He's hiding somewhere in the room." Hao meant._

" Right." Ren said, nodding, sitting down on the chair opposite to where Hao was standing. Soon enough, Hao joined him, and they sat across from each other with a round table in between them. Directly above them Ejio had planted himself in the heating vent, peering through the gazed wire that was keeping him from being seen. Beside him was a pile of chopsticks, in which he calmly started to build the first layer.

" How've you been?" Ren asked Hao casually.

" Very well, thank you." Hao said. " How's Pirika?"

" She's okay." Ren said. " She's been into acting lessons lately."

" Is that right?" Hao said, lips twitching. " Who's her teacher?"

Ren looked around the room. There was no sign of the boy anywhere. Obviously he was good at planting himself; he must have been a killer to find when his mother wanted to give him a bath. Hao smirked before leaning back in his armchair. Ejio frowned to himself as he stacked the second layer. This certainly was strange. The two of them weren't doing anything peculiar. Not anything that he had been expecting, anyway. He dropped the last chopstick on the third layer before rubbing his chin thoughtfully. There was a huge possibility that they were putting on an act for him to see, but he had been extremely careful when he entered. Not to mention the fact that he barely made a sound since the moment he hid inside. Topping it off with the fact that he was a professional, there was not even the slightest chance that they could have noticed he was inside.

" A person who used to be an exterminator." Ren said, grinning.

Ejio blinked, already on the fifth layer now. The conversation was sounding more and more phoney by the second. It was like the two of them were just trying to buy time. Talking about this Pirika person made them seem like two people on their first date, struggling to find new topics of interest to talk about. Unless this girl had something to do with either of them. . .He pulled out his laptop and typed in the name. He received only one search; and that person seemed to be from the Ainu province. Her parents were unknown, but she had one sole brother whose name was Horo Horo. He blinked. That certainly was a peculiar name. Without even hesitating, he pulled out his earphone speaker and placed it to his ear before dialing a number. Within a few seconds, a girl had answered.

" Hello?" she said restlessly.

" Sister." Ejio said as quietly as he could. He had done several test tries on whether it was possible to be not heard by Hao and at the same time be heard by Sumiko. With the current height and vacuum-like atmosphere, the possibility of him being noticed by Hao and Ren was close to nil. Unless the two of them had the hearing skills of a dog, anyway. " This is Ejio. Check up a person called Pirika."

She sighed and placed her bag of freshly bought lemons on the chair next to her and referred to the notes that Kino had handed her. She had just been to the grocer for an obvious reason, and was just on the way home when this oddball of a sibling called her up. " She's the current girl-friend of Ren Tao." she said plainly. " Is close friends with Yoh, Tao Jun- - -"

" Wait, did you say Ren Tao?" he said, eyes wide.

" Yeah, what about?" she said.

" Nothing." he muttered, setting the sixth layer more calmly now. " Give me deeper information than that," he said. " What is her relationship with Hao Asakura like?"

Sumiko raised her eyebrows. " It says that they get along well, but barely make contact. Kino suspects she once worked for him in favour of a task, but details are still scratchy. It says that he's close friends with her brother though."

" And would that be Horo Horo?" he said restlessly.

" Yeah, how do you know?" she asked.

" Just a hunch." he said tiredly, laying the eighth layer. " Well, I have to go."

" See you later." Sumiko said, putting down the phone. She glared at it for a moment before looking up at the skies above. " Something's going to happen to him." she whispered under her breath. Without waiting another second to think, she grabbed her bag of lemons and ran towards the direction of Hao's household.

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" Come on, give me more. . ." Ejio breathed, laying the eleventh layer.

" Hey, just now when you said exterminator, it reminded me of something." Hao said, grinning. " There are way too many spiders in my house. I need to call one pronto."

" You need to call a spider?" Ren said, feigning stupidity.

" Dumbass." Hao said, lips twitching.

" Too many spiders in the house. . .An exterminator. . ." Ejio muttered, rubbing his chin. It was just a matter of reading between the lines, that's all. The spider obviously was directed toward himself. That was one thing for certain. He was not afraid of that. The exterminator was obviously the symbolism of death, and they wanted to get rid of him. This was not what he was afraid and curious about. Hao would have been specific and said "rat" or "cockroach". Why did he have to use the word "spider"? He pondered as he set the twelfth layer. " Spiders are not harmful animals." he said under his breath. " They help kill other harmful insects."

It was when he lay the last chopstick of the thirteenth layer when his eyes widened in shock.

" My sister." he whispered.

He hit his fist against the thirteen layers of chopsticks; it clattering to the floor loudly. Ejio smashed through the vent, landing perfectly on the table below him. " Ejio!" Hao said brightly, sounding like the sight of a person smashing through the roof and landing down on his priceless furniture through mid-air was a daily occurrence to him. " This is my friend Ren, I doubt the two of you have met?"

" No. We haven't." Ejio said flatly, before pointing his finger at Hao. " I don't care whatever the Hell you do to me. But I won't let you lay a finger on my sister."

" Wasn't planning to." Hao said, grinning broadly.

" Liar." he snarled.

" If you're trying to find reason to hit him, please do it after getting off the furniture." Ren said calmly. Ejio stood there for a moment, his face facing Ren until in a split second he was right before him, his fingers pointed in his direction. Soon there were icicles bursting from Ejio's hand, and Ren darted back to avoid them, grabbing his family sword and slashed the icicles into ice cubes. After watching them melt for a moment, Ren looked up and smirked at him triumphantly. " That was nothin- - -" he started, until a gust of blood spilled from his chest.

His eyes widened in shock as he pressed his hand forward to cease the bleeding. Ejio smirked and crossed his arms across his chest. Ren grinned back and pointed his sword at him. " If it's a fight you want, I'll give it to you." Ren said. " But only when you calm down; it would be worthless to fight with someone who is blinded by their rage and confusion, because that does nothing at all except cause the person's skills to be lessened considerably."

" Don't act like you know me." Ejio snarled, the smile disappearing from his face. " I'm more than twice your age and strength, just so you know."

" I'll believe that when I see it." Ren said.

" Shall we take this outside?" Ejio asked.

They glared at each other for a moment before dashing out the back door. Hao peered at his watch for a moment and his eyes widened. He took a step forward. " Ren!" he called out, real fear in his voice this time. " You don't want to engage in a fight right now! This time it's- - -!"

But he stopped at the sight of Sumiko.

She was not facing him, but she was looking straight at the scene before her. Hao looked in her direction and sighed and shut his eyes. There stood Ejio and Ren; an ice boulder almost crushing Ren's head to pieces, Ren's sword through Ejio's stomach. Sumiko gripped the lemons in her hand, almost lashing the plastic to pieces. " Brother. . ." she whispered out softly, and Hao sighed, looking at his watch one last time before snapping it shut.

" Crap." Hao muttered, smashing it to pieces. " Looks like I have to plan my tricks all over again and without Ren. . .it's going to be doubly hard."

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The movie was not a bad one.

Anna was not one who enjoyed watching evil men aim to take over the world or at least German, both in real life and in a movie theater. Maybe that was the reason she and Hao never seemed to get along. She didn't think she and Hitler would be best buddies either. Anyway, she actually found herself being interested once or twice during the movie, but she was always good at faking boredom when Yoh sneaked looks at her. Putting it simply, pride was both her strength as it was her weakness.

Yoh, on the other hand, was enjoying himself openly. He was doubtful of the movie in the beginning, but after the first ten minutes he got mesmerized by the beauty of the screenplay. There was a large bag of popcorn that had been sitting comfortably on his lap for the past hour, and it had been only touched once or twice; the times it had been grabbed up, the pieces of popcorn had frequently missed Yoh's mouth without notice. The theater was fully crowded, so Amidamaru only could bob as a Spirit Ball next to Yoh's shoulder, much to Anna's amusement.

" This reminds me of the time when Hao was still evil," Yoh muttered into Anna's ear, and she smirked. It was pretty true, actually. The two of them, Hitler and Hao, were practically equally scheming, just that Hao probably had better dress sense and had higher intellect to know that growing a toothbrush shaped beard would very well get you laughed out of your grave. Then she frowned at that thought. Had Hao really changed for the better? She was always doubtful of Hao and the way he acted ever since he came back to Yoh in repentance. Yoh, being the always nice guy, accepted his apologies and took him in as a brother once again.

" Hao," she muttered under her breath as she grabbed a piece of popcorn from Yoh's bag and popped it into her mouth. She still did not trust Hao, no matter what Yoh would say to her. She looked sideways at him and chuckled at the sight of him cringing as Hitler started yelling again. She let out a small smile. There was something about looking at Yoh that just made her feel peaceful. At ease. Sure he made her angry from time to time, but that didn't make her hate him. Yoh was not Hao, in any case.

Smiling softly, she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek before sitting back down. It was as time seemed to stop and Yoh turned to face her, a look of amazement on her face when she started to regret ever doing such an action to him. " I. . .I don't know why I did that. . ." she said to him, face flushed.

He grinned at her.

" I didn't know Hitler movies made you feel romantic." he said cheekily.

" Shut up." she muttered, turning crimson. " It's just. . ."

" Run!" Hitler roared in the background. " Run for cover!"

If only it was that simple.

" I don't know, actually. . ." she said, chewing on her bottom lip, face burning. " I just thought you looked really cute and handsome then, so. . ."

" Cute and handsome?" he said, grinning wider now. " You thought I looked cute and handsome?"

A girl behind them giggled, and she blushed even deeper now.

" It's not what it sounds like," she said, almost exhasperatedly. " I just. . ."

But she was cut short by Yoh's lips pressed firmly upon hers. There was a gasp behind them, but they ignored her. Anna, outraged and embarrassed, raised her hand to slap him when she noticed his eyes were open too. She stared at him, and he simply looked back. Then, concurrently, they both shut their eyes and her hand dropped to her side. Amidamaru opened his mouth to say something before noticing the "event" happening before him. He just let out a small smile before getting back to the movie.

Yoh's heart leapt. God, kissing Anna felt amazing. It felt like jumping into the sky, taking a slice out of Heaven and falling back to Earth again, just without the hurting in the knees that would come soon afterwards. Well, Anna wasn't slapping him anyway, which would bring about the same amount of pain.

He pulled her closer to him, conquering the almost imaginary gap between them, continuing to breath in on her. She whimpered as he clutched her tightly, and was about to touch her most secret of places when he heard the dull buzz of his hand phone. Anna inwardly groaned while Yoh grunted a swear word before picking it up towards his ear. " Hello?" he said, as softly as possible, giving Anna a chance to catch her breath.

She pressed her fingers to her lips, a smile creeping up on her face. Yoh indeed was a good kisser. She had never felt so light-headed in her life. She glanced behind her, and noticed the gasping and giggling girl looking back at her, a smile on her face. She winked at Anna before looking back at the movie. Anna raised her eyebrows before smirking and sitting back down in her chair. This was going to be a good night after all.

" Anna," Yoh said urgently, putting down the phone. " We have to leave now."

Maybe not.

" What's wrong?" Anna asked as the two of them budged past rows of people.

" Ren's been admitted to the hospital." Yoh answered.

Anna's eyes widened.

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Kino raised her eyebrows.

Then she smiled.

A blue feather flew before her for a mere second before disappearing. " That's another of Anna's heart feather's gone." Kino said, smiling to herself.

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" I'm sorry, Mister Asakura." Doctor Foswell said firmly, gripping him on the shoulder. " Frankly, I do not care if your friends can heal or revive better than us ordinary doctors. What I care about, most importantly, is your friends's heaths. They are in serious conditions now, and I think it would be better if you let them recover by themselves without the use of magic, shamanic abilities or whatever the Hell you call it. After all, it is serious, but not critical. I'm glad your girl-friend chose to bring them to us."

" She's not my girl-friend, she's just someone I'm taking care of." Hao said before getting back to the subject. " Look. We brought them here, and I accept that. But I cannot, and will now, allow you to touch Ren Tao at all. He's a close friend to me, and I have a friend who is experienced in this field of- - -"

" If you're talking about Doctor Faust, you might be right." Foswell said, sighing. The two of them were sitting in the waiting bay of the hospital, which was currently devoid of people except for Hao, the doctor, and Sumiko. Sumiko was sitting down on a chair behind them, while Hao and Foswell stood roughly three to four meters away from her. " But he's busy at the current moment, and I cannot let you bother him."

Hao chewed on his bottom lip.

" Whose injuries are worse, Ejio or Ren?" he asked.

" Well, if you want to be all technical. . ." Foswell muttered, looking at his many sheets of paper that were fastened to a clipboard. " Ren only has several large bruises in his back and a blow in the head, but that's about it. The one who was severely hurt has to be Ejio." At that, the two of them turned around and looked at Sumiko, who was still looking down at the ground, chewing quietly on the lemon in her hands, a small box of them on her lap. They looked back at each other and Foswell sighed. " She's his sister, isn't she?" he asked.

" Yes." Hao said gloomily. " Yes she is."

" Then console her." Foswell said firmly, turning his heel to walk away. " I'm going to check on their progress. You may visit them in around twenty minutes; I will request your friend Faust to look over Ren while I do some finals check-ups on Ejio, alright?"

" Alright." Hao said. " Whatever the doctor says."

Foswell gave him a grave nod before walking off. Hao waited until Foswell was out of sight before sitting down next to Sumiko, scratching the back of his head uncomfortably. They stayed in this position for another moment before Hao sighed and looked down at his feet; a similar position to Sumiko's.

" I'm sorry." he finally said. She said nothing. " I should have been by Ejio's side at that time."

" So why weren't you?" she said so suddenly, so cold, so merciless.

He flinched at her tone before smiling sadly.

" I didn't think they would get into that big of a fight." he said quietly. " I never knew that they both had such big killing intentions for each other. I'm not very clever for a guardian, am I?"

" That's right." she said, still not looking at him.

Hao shivered. This girl was almost as scary as Anna.

Hao bit his lip before sighing. " Sumiko. . ." he began.

" Don't call me by my name!" she yelled, and he jumped, appalled by her sudden outburst. " What makes you think that I would still allow myself to be under the care of someone who doesn't even understand his friend enough and protect the person that matters the most to me? You're the World's strongest shaman, damn it! Why didn't you know? You can read people's minds, can't you? You are more powerful than the both of them combined, aren't you? SO WHY DIDN'T YOU STOP THEM?"

The dam had burst.

The box had been opened.

The glass had broke.

Tears formed in her eyes and she wiped them away furiously. He reached out to wipe them away when her hand slapped his hand away and whipped itself across his cheek, and he looked at her, shocked. She got to her feet, the lemons falling to the ground in a dull thud. " I HATE YOU!" she screamed. " I hate you, you hear me? I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!"

" Sumiko, don't. . ." he said.

" I SAID DON'T CALL ME BY MY NAME!" she yelled, tears flowing from her eyes continuously. " You should have stopped him! You did that on PURPOSE, DIDN'T YOU?"

" It wasn't entirely my fault, you came in when I wanted to run after him!" Hao shouted back.

She stopped, eyes wide.

There was something that crossed her eyes and she looked away, sighing in resignation. She bit her lip and wiped away the last of her tears. " I'm sorry." she whispered, reaching down to pick up the fallen lemons. " There was nobody else I could blame and release my anger on, so I flung it at the only person who cared for Ejio enough to bring him to the hospital. I shouldn't have lost my temper so easily. Please forgive me. . .Hao-san."

Even though he was not the one in the wrong, he still felt a shred of guiltiness as he watched her pick up every single lemon pitifully and he bent down to help her out. " No, I can do it myself, thank you." she said silently, and he stopped. He settled for watching her until she finished putting every lemon inside the box and got to her feet to leave.

" Wait, you- - -" he called out.

" I would like to be alone for a moment, Hao-san." she said sullenly before continuing to walk away. She disappeared behind the arch in the hallway and he leaned against the chair behind him, sighing. He turned to look at the lemons that were neatly back in the box and he reached out to take one and put it in his mouth before wincing.

" So sour." he muttered.

It was at that moment when his eyes widened, and something so distinct and familiar came back to him that he just sat rigid to the spot for a moment before smiling sadly. " Well, you know what they say. . ." he said quietly, tears starting to fall from his face. " The more sour the fruit. . .the sweeter they are in the center."

He buried his face in his hands, and started to cry.

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How long he stayed there, he didn't know. But he was so lost in himself that he didn't even notice footsteps approach him. It was when he heard the single thought from Yoh when he was finally painfully brought back to earth.

_Oh God, is that my brother crying?_

He looked up abruptly, wiping his eyes furiously. There stood Yoh and Anna before him, looks of shock and curiosity on their faces. His eyes and Anna's eyes met, and his heart leapt as he noticed concern in them. " What's going on, Hao?" she asked him. " Is Ren going to be okay?"

Oh.

She was caring for Ren.

" He's going to be alright." Hao said dully, hiding his disappointment as much as he could. " You can visit him in Room 304. It's on level three. To go to the lift you just have to go straight, then turn a left before going straight again. It's near the vending machine. If you pass the toilets then you've gone too far."

" Thanks." Yoh said hurriedly. " Are you okay?"

Hao forced a smile. " I'm fine."

Yoh nodded and made motion to leave when he stopped and turned around. Anna was still standing there before Hao, a look of confrontation on her face. She shut her eyes before turning to Yoh. " You go along first. I want to speak to your brother before I go."

Yoh gave her somewhat of an appraising look before running off to the lift.

She sat down next to him. " I want to speak to you about something, Hao." she said.

He chuckled.

" If it's about me crying. . ." he said.

" I couldn't care less about that." she said stiffly, and he stopped.

" Oh." he said, concealing his disappointment, but he didn't have to. Anna wouldn't even have shed a tear if he died on the spot at the moment.

" I want to ask if it was you who messed with Yoh's grades." she said.

He raised his eyebrows before grinning.

" You really always go straight to the point." he said.

" Bite me." she snapped. " I have already spoken to Seika, and he readily admitted what you did. I want to know why you're doing this. Changing his grades wouldn't make a difference to you, would it?"

He smirked at her and got up from his seat. " I do not have to tell this sort of thing to you, Anna." he said. " Now I must go. I have important things to do that desperately require my attention. Please help me wish Ren a good health."

She got up to her feet and glared at Hao, whose back was facing her.

" What the Hell are you running from, Hao Asakura?" she snarled.

He stopped and turned around to meet her eyes again, and he grinned. " Not you, definitely." he said. " Why are you so interested in me all of a sudden?"

" I don't trust you." she said.

" I never asked you to." he said.

She pulled at the beads on her neck and it fell to the ground like the crack of a whip. " Then I'm going to have to make it quite plain. If you dare to hurt Yoh in any sort of way. . .I'll personally murder you."

" That's admirable." he said quietly, a frozen flare flickering within his eyes. " But you yourself over anyone else should know that Yoh trusts me beyond anything imaginable. If I'm indeed planning to take anything away from him, he wouldn't believe it even if I took it right before his eyes, would he?"

" And just what might that possibly be?" she said, face hardening.

He cocked his head, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

" It would be you, Anna." he said.

" I would never go to your side, Hao." she practically snarled.

" You're breaking my heart." he said placidly.

" Tell it to someone who cares."

They just stood there, looking at each other for a moment when Hao just shrugged and turned his back towards her again. " I'll be dropping by tomorrow. I have something important I have to tell Yoh."

She did not reply.

He took one last glance at her before walking out of the waiting room to the garden that was found outside the hospital, leaving Anna standing there alone. She just looked at the spot where he stood not long ago before placing the beads back on her neck once again. She glared at the shut doors of the clinic before making her way to the lift, making sure that when she reached the third level, she wouldn't pass the toilets, which would mean she went too far.

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Anna entered Ren's sick room, and found herself among Yoh and several of Ren's other close friends. Horo Horo, Ryu, Lyserg, Chocolove, Faust and finally a tearful Pirika were sitting near Yoh, who was by Ren's bed. They noticed her, gave her grim nods before turning their attention back to the tired boy. Faust got to his feet and beckoned the others to follow him out of the room. It was when they shut the door behind themselves when their expressions turned to anxious looks. " So how is he, Faust?" Pirika asked frantically. " Is he going to be alright?"

" Everything looks fine for now." Faust said, a grim smile on his face. " Unfortunately, that's the cheerier side of the news. It seems that he has forgotten a period of his memory from a certain moment until the time he was admitted to the hospital. I suspect he received a hard blow in the head to cause him to get amnesia."

" Do you think he still remembers that the two of us are dating?" Pirika asked, clasping her hands together fearfully.

" I'm not sure about that yet." Faust said, sighing. " It's rather hard to tell this sort of things, especially if it is of a mind of a person like Ren. You see, he has been revived far too many times to have just one stable memory base in tact. It has been modified far too many times, thus making it hard to retract which was the true date of the happening."

" Like reformatting a computer." Horo said knowledgeably.

" You could say that." Faust said, grinning sheepishly.

Yoh took a glance at Ren from the glass window in the room before looking back at Faust. " How long do you suppose he would take to recover this memory?"

" At most ten days, I would say." Faust said, turning to look questioningly at Eliza. When she merely shrugged he turned back to Yoh. " But that all depends on his memory power. Does he recall things easier? Is he in the area where he was in in the memory which he forgot? The least that would happen would be him having tons of deja vu, that's all."

" Guns on the tar who pats all?" Chocolove said, popping up.

Silence.

" Sorry." he said gloomily. " I thought all of you could use cheering up."

" Why are we so concerned about this, anyway?" Lyserg said questioningly. " It's only a few months of memory, why do we have to be so desperate to help him recover these thoughts? Wouldn't it be better for him to just regain his memory by himself one step at a time?"

" A memory is still a memory, Lyserg." Yoh said, smiling at him.

" Simple, let logical." Ryu said, grinning.

Somehow Anna was not sure that things were not so simple. Somehow Hao was behind this, and she was going to find out whatever he was planning, and stop him with whatever power she had.

Yoh raised his eyebrows as he watched Anna.

There was a strange flicker in her eyes that he never saw before; making her look unapproachable, making her seem isolated. He bit his lip and looked away and turned to Horo, who was peering into Ren's room. Anna, at this moment, turned to face Yoh. His back was facing her. She turned to leave, her footsteps echoing in the dull silent halls of the hospital ward.

END CHAPTER 20

Well, how's THAT for a turn of current events? What did Hao mean when he spoke to Anna? Will Ren gain his memory again? Will Hao really steal Anna away from Yoh? What is to become of Pirika? What is Sumiko's big secret? What is to become of Ejio? What is to be of the relationship of Yoh and Anna? Find out in chapter 21! P.S. Please check out my website. " I would like that. And vote in as many polls as possible. Thanks bunches! Chapter 21 will be up and ready as soon as possible!


	21. A Storm Is Brewing

Yay! Here's the chapter that passed the 20th chapter! Soon you shall see Hao's true intentions showing through the ugliness of all. But don't forget, there's always two sides to everything. I suggest you read several of the chapter before this one, or you might be slightly lost. I will start to unveil everything in the story slowly and slowly from the start to the very end. This story will most likely end at chapter 25. I hope all of you enjoyed the last chapter, because it was real fun to write it. Here's the new one, so please read and review! For those who haven't voted in my polls on my website, please take some time to vote! I would really appreciate it. Alright, I'll quit with the gabbering. Please read and review! This is Chapter 21 for all you folks out there. Sorry if this chapter is rather short. I'm rather busy at the moment, but I promise with every atom in my body that the next chapter will be longer. Also, I promise to FINALLY have some " action" coming up. I've noticed that those scenes have not appeared for quite some time.

CHAPTER 21

" How was the movie, Yoh?" Horo asked, stirring his coffee with his spoon lightly. " I heard you and Anna got free passes to Hitler: Rise To Evil."

Him, Yoh, Ren and Ryu were sitting in the coffee house together at their usual table, the waitresses standing as far away from them as humanly possible. " It was pretty good, actually." Yoh said lightly, grinning happily as he took a sip ofthe blended mocha in his handsbefore placing it down on the table. " Anna and I almost had a moment there until we got the call from you." he said, the smile still on his face, yet at the same time failing to sound nonchalant.

" Sorry about that." Ren said, guilt almost soaking through his voice.

" Hey, what were you supposed to do, not get hurt?" Yoh said jokingly.

" But it's funny though." Ren said, rubbing his sore temples sullenly. " I can't remember anything that happened in the past few days. . .who won the semi-finals in the Japan Cup?"

" It was Tokyo." Ryu said. " You were rooting for them, remember?"

" Yeah." Ren muttered. " I remember **that**."

There was silence that followed until all four of them sighed at the same time before looking up at the others, alarmed, then laughed. " We can just hope that whatever you forgot isn't anything important." Yoh said, smiling cheerfully at Ren. Ren raised his eyebrows before nodding.

" Yeah." he said. " If only."

That's right.

If only.

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Kino was having a peaceful afternoon.

It had been cold from the start of the morning, so she spend the whole day in the comfort of her home, sipping on a cup of tea loungily, cuddled beneath the blankets and a stool under her feet to prop up her legs. She would have stayed in that position for a while longer until she heard the opening of the door behind her. Sighing, she sat up right, and placed the cup back on the table where it was first placed. " I should have known good things never last for long." she muttered under her breath, her back still facing the person at the door. " What did you come here for? The last time you visited me you swore never to come back again until the day you died."

Behind her, Anna Kyoyuma shut the door silently.

Kino frowned. " I suspect you have something important to tell me." she said.

" Ask you, actually." Anna replied.

Kino raised her eyebrows before raising her hand to the furniture opposite to acknowledge Anna's presence. " Take a seat." she said. " But don't make it lengthy, I'm not in the mood for chit-chat today."

" I'm not exactly in the mood to appear onthe Jay Leno Showeither." Anna muttered, before sitting herself next to Kino. She waited until Kino had finished taking another sip of tea and had put it down on the table before continuing. " Kino. . .I wanted to talk to you about Hao Asakura." she said, and to Anna's surprise, Kino smirked at her.

" I knew this topic would pop up one day or another." she said.

" Kino. . ." Anna said warningly.

" Relax." Kino chuckled. " I know that Hao might have had an even shadier past that an etch-a-sketch board, but he's a changed man now. If he was still after the Shaman King crown, he would have murdered Yoh a long time ago. Not that that would have helped himinany wayof course," she said, taking another sip of tea before going on. " The Shaman Fight was a hoax;just an inside jokeplayed bythe mischevious Great Spirits."

" And you said you were not in the mood for chit-chat." Anna muttered. " I already know everything you told me. I just don't trust him, that's all. How can you trust someone who never has a true facade?"

" Well, that's not my problem, Anna." Kino said, rising to her feet to leave the room. Anna watched her leave, a sense of dawning approaching her.

" You're hiding something from me, aren't you?" she said slowly, and Kino stopped.

She turned around, grinning. " It's true I can't hide anything from you, Anna." she said, and Anna managed a small smirk back. " However," she went on, and the smile faded from Anna's lips. " I can't tell anything to you.Not yet, at least. This is strictly between me and the two other people concerned."

Anna frowned. " Just who are these two individuals?"

Kino smiled rather fondly at her. " I think you know one of them. . ." she said, tracing her finger to her lips before stuffingboth her handsinto her pockets, the dreamy air disappearing immediately; being replaced in an instant by a stern and dignified look. " Just leave things to me, Anna. I will be able to handle Hao by myself, thank you very much."

And she left the room slowly, hobbling her way out.

Anna glared at her disappearing figure before crossing her arms across her chest sulkily.

" Penny for your thoughts." came a voice from behind her, and she jumped, spinning around before sighing and sitting herself back down on the chair. " Oh. It's you, Yohmei."

He grinned and sat himself down next to her. " I overheard the entire conversation, my dear child." he said, and she stiffened next to him. " And I'm proud to say that frankly I don't trust Hao Asakura much either." then he chuckled at the excited look on her face. " Backduring the time while he was still a mere child I could already sense great fear within himself."

" Fear?" Anna asked incredulously.

" Fear." Yohmei replied. " He was not afraid of his enemies or companions. He could kill anyone and anything at the mere drop of a dime; but he was afraid of himself. I think that was the reason why he decided to become a good brother, and approached Yoh for forgiveness. But it was stupid of Yoh to believe him, if I may speak so bold." he said, gripping his hands together. " Because Hao is like the river."

" The river?" she asked.

" He goes with the flow of the current." Yohmei replied. " Never ceasing to stop. He might be your friend at one time, but a minute later he might just backstab you before you know it. You should never trust a river to always be safe to swimin. One moment it might be just lapping at your feet, another moment it would crush you by the mere speed of its rapids. Hao is the same. He might just be a good friend and brother now, but sooner or later he would just getbored of it and. . ."

" Betray us all." Anna finished.

Yohmei nodded gravely.

" That's what I fear the most." he said.

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Kino hobbled her way to the front gate and sat herself down on the large rock that was just before the pathway leading to the house opposite. " Finally I can get some peace and quiet." she muttered to herself, lifting the tea cup to her lips when all of a sudden it broke and burst into a million pieces. Alarmed, she grabbed her walking stick which was beside her to her chest, sensing someone's presence before glaring at the person.

" What do you want, Hao?" she whispered through gritted teeth.

A burst of flames appeared before her, and as soon as it subsided, there stood Hao, smiling cheerfully down at the blind woman before him. " You truly are masterful at the art of predication, Kino." he said, sitting himself down beside her. " But don't worry, I won't harm you. All I came here was to have a chat with you."

" About what?" she said, clenching her jaw.

" Oh, nothing much." he said, shrugging. " I just wanted to talk to you about Ejio and Sumiko."

Kino raised her eyebrows. " Yes?" she said suspiciously.

He lifted his hand before her, a finger pointed directly before her face. " You know, Kino. . ." he said quietly, a blue flame appearing on that finger immediately, and Kino backed away slightly. " I'm not a man who likes to be lied to. So I'm just going to ask you once."

Kino gulped.

" Are those two spies for you?" he said, a glare on his face now.

" I suspected you would find out sooner or later, but this was far earlier than I expected. I'm impressed." Kino said, soudning much more calm than she really was feeling. Outside she was putting on a cool front. Inside, she was scorched by his burning heat.

" Why, thank you." he said, grinning, the flame disappearing, his hand dropping toa side. " Now, get back to the subject, if you may."

Kino said nothing, and he smirked.

" It's alright." he said, getting to his feet. " They weren't really in my way anyway. I just wanted you to know that Ejio is currently under the care of doctors, due to getting severe cuts and wounds."

Kino rose to her feet, alarmed. " How could you!" she yelled.

" Relax, it wasn't me." Hao said calmly. " You know that I wouldn't hurt someone under my care. That's the only reason I haven't murdered him or Sumiko anyway." He caught sight of Kino's almost white knuckles on her walking stick and smiled. " I thought you reassured to Anna that. . .I was a changed man?"

Kino's eyes widened.

" You overheard us?" she whispered.

" I don't like that word, frankly." Hao said, waggling his finger before her. " That almost makes it sound like I'm on the enemy side."

" Aren't you?" she said.

" No." he said, stepping in on her. " You are."

" I don't think that's true." she said, taking a step back.

" Alright, how about this." Hao said, snapping his fingers, and behind Kino there appeared his Spirit of Fire, trapping her between its two large hands. " You can choose to either listen to what I have to say and get out of here alive or I'm going to burn you to a crisp as easily as snapping a toothpick. The choice is yours." He was grinning fully now, and it was then when Kino wondered if she was as confident as she sounded like she was when she spoke to Anna.

She sighed.

" Then speak." she said.

Hao smiled. " Thank you for your cooperation." he said.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

" I think it's about time I headed home." Anna said, getting to her feet, and Yohmei nodded gravely. " Thanks for your time, anyway." she finished, opening the door to Kino's room open. " I really appreciate it."

" Hey, what are grandfathers for?" he said, smiling.

She managed a small smile and was about to open the door which lead to the gate when it opened on its own accord, and there stood Kino, a rather confused look on her face. She seemed to be in her own world for a moment, muttering something under her breath when she noticed the two of them standing before her, and she blinked. " Hello, Anna." she said, sounding surprised. " You haven't left yet?"

" Going to, anyway." Anna said, walking past her.

" Oh, Anna. . ." Kino said, and Anna stopped, turning around to face the old woman, who was smiling at her reassuringly. " Don't worry about Hao. Everything's going to be fine."

Anna frowned but said nothing and shut the door behind her.

Outside the doors of the Asakura House,Hao started to laugh.

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Pirika chewed her bottom lip as she watched Ren inside his room. She had been doing this lately; so often that she had already memorized the patterns of his actions, almost like that of an astronomer tothe moon on a Lunar Chart. Renusually spent his time at his desk reading a book or havinga nap on his bed. When he was not in his room, he was either gelling up his hair or training to become stronger. Talk about having a boring lifestyle. She sighed as she continued to watch his back for a moment until she popped her head back out and sighed once again. She couldn't find it within herself to ask him if he still remembered her or not, and always had to waste the time of debating whether to ask him or not by peeking at him with every moment she got.

" You know, Pirika, there's a saying. . ." came a cheerful voice behind her, and she jumped and turned abruptly to find herself facing Hao Asakura. " That when a person pines for an object for more than they can be seemed to hope for, the object they hope to get or achieve seems further away, or in some cases. . ."

His eyes and her eyes met.

" . . .Impossible to retrieve."

Pirika's eyes widened.

" W. . .What would make you say that?" she asked.

Hao smiled and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

" Horo Horo's desperately looking for the pizza he left in the oven last night, but he doesn't know I just ate it for him." he laughed, and the tension between the two of them seemed to sag to the spot.

" Oh. . ." Pirika said, feeling extremely stupid at the moment. " Okay."

She walked off, thumping herself on the head repetedly, and Hao chuckled as he watched her. After she was out of sight, he turned his attention back to Ren who was still reading his book. He chewed on his bottom lip thoughtfully. " I guess you thought I was directing it to you, don't you?" he muttered to the gone Pirika. He thumped his fist against the wall beside him. " You have no idea how wrong you are."

" A bit boring to talk to yourself, isn't it?" came Yoh's voice behind him this time, and it was his turn to jump. He turned and smiled rather sheepishly at his twin brother.

" Hello." he said.

" Hi." Yoh said. " Anna told me you had something important to tell me?"

Hao raised his eyebrows before shaking his head. " No, it's alright. I guess that can wait. By the way, did you read the book Doctor Jeckel and Mr Hyde?"

" When I was a kid." Yoh said, furrowing his brow. " Why?"

A small smile lit up upon Hao's face, and as he looked deadstraight at Yoh; seemingly opening his mouth to say something when suddenly there was the approaching of footsteps towards the two of them, and they both turned around to find Anna standing there.

Hao looked at Anna.

Anna looked at Hao.

Yoh looked at Anna.

Hao shut his eyes and walked past Anna, stepping past her as she reached out to stop him. " I guess I'll speak to you some other time, dear brother." he said calmly, snapping his fingers and disappeared into a burst of fire. " Meet me at the coffeehouse tonight. Bring Horo Horo, Ren, Lyserg. . .basically the guys. Nobody else." came his voice echoing through the halls before the flame disappeared along with the man who congured it. Yoh nodded impressively at the sight of another one of his brother's grand exits before turning his attention back to Anna.

She barely looked back at him before turning her heel and walked away.

" You don't mind me going tonight, don't you?" he called out.

She stopped for a moment, bowing her head to look at the ground for a moment before looking back up and walked away. " Do whatever you want." she said flatly. " It's not like I own you or anything."

Yoh smiled and nodded, making his way off in the opposite direction.

In his room, Ren sighed and closed the book in his hands shut.

" What's with people having tension in this corridor?" he muttered sourly.

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**Scene 1:**

" Whatdoes Hao want to tell all of us?" Horo Horo asked Yoh, raising his eyebrows as he drummed his fingers impatiently on the table. Beside him, Ryu, Lyserg, Ren, Manta and Faust were sitting in the cafe on the same regular seating area where they always sat at. " He couldn't have chosen a worse night. I finally found out where they sold the best-coloured skate boards and he calls me out for no good reason. I hope he doesn't plan on dragging it on for too long a time."

" Do you suppose he could have called us out for another one of his lessons?"Manta asked, rubbing his chin.

" That's not possible." Ren said, thumping his fist on the table. " He wouldn't have called me, I don't need any of his damned advice."

" Neither do I." Lyserg said, scratching the back of his head embarrasingly.

" Yeah, neither do I." Ryu said confidenly.

The others raised their eyebrows at him before shrugging and turned their attention back to the door; expecting Hao to enter any minute now. " Do you think he asked me here to help him do another check up?" Faust said, looking back at Eliza, who shrugged. " I have to admit, the last time I checked on him, the positivity of him having HIV was extremely high- - -"

" I'm sure it's not that." Yoh said sheepishly, while the others looked at Faust with mortified expressions. " If that was so, he would have called onlyyou out, wouldn't he?"

" Maybe he wants to warn us about something." Manta said reasonably.

" That's the only possible factor." Horo said.

Yoh nodded and took a sip of coffee. " Yeah." he said. " I guess all we can do is to wait."

**Scene 2: **

" You seem different." Yohmei said to his wife with a worried frown.

" Do I?" Kino said with raised eyebrows.

" Yeah." Yohmei said, scratching his head. " It's probably nothing, but- - -"

" Then shut it." she snapped.

Yohmei blinked before grinning. " **That's** the woman I know and love." he said.

Kino smiled back.

**Scene 3: **

A young lady with a lemon in her hands sitting by her unconcious brother's bed.

**Scene 4: **

A young blue-haired girl sitting on a chair, looking at a picture of her and Ren, sobbing quietly.

**Scene 5:**

A young man with a flame emitting from his hand looking up at the skies.

Rain starts to drop from the sky.

He smiles.

**Scene 6:**

" Something tells me he's just outside right now." Yoh said, smiling softly.

" Yeah." Ren muttered, taking a swig of coffee. " And there's going to be a Hell of a storm coming."

" I second that." Faust said lightly. " And it's not going to be just about the weather."

END CHAPTER 21

**IT'S MY BIRTHDAY TODAY!** My new age resolution, write stories to the best of my ability, and not to disappoint my readers! Please read and review me to keep me in the mood and have the inspiration to write! I will do my best to please every single one of you!

For those who also read my Detective Conan stories, I used that line in my final chapter of Haibara's Confessions. Anyway, I'm contemplating on what to do in the next chapter. Sorry to Sumiko fans if she appeared so little in this chapter. Sumiko haters, well, there you go. I'm rather fond of Sumiko, actually. I think she's like that tiny bit of gloom inside everyone of us, just extended and enlargened for us to see. Oh well. I'll try to put up chapter 22 as quick as I can. In the meantime, please read and review me. A review really goes a long way to me, by the way. Thank you to those in advance for reviewing me. I'll try to put in action, " scenes", humor and romance in the next chapter. Starting the countdown for the final few chapters!


	22. The Truth Unfolds

Chapter 22. The one-sided truth finally comes out, after twenty one whole chapters of waiting. The last few chapters will be longer that the others. Please read and review.

CHAPTER 22

Hao entered the coffeeshop, a cheerful smile on his face as he made his way to the table where Yoh and the rest of the gang were sitting, four on one end of the rectangular table, three on the other. They noticed him come, and Ren glared at him, looking at his watch. " You're late." he said disapprovingly. " I thought you could appear in an instantwith the help of your Spirit of Fire. What the Hell took you so long? You're usually the earliest one to arrive when we meet up."

" That's right, Bok-chamma!" Bason said, bobbing his head furiously.

" My apologies," Hao said, sitting himself down between the two groups of people of the table. " I want to stay isolated so all of you can hear me clearly," he said, interrupting Yoh before he had a chance to speak. " What I am about to tell you is something I have keptsecret for the past few months. I believe when I finish telling you what I wish to say, none of you will wish to speak to me again, and will desire to attack me.I do not find that in any way a threat; just the opposite, it would be a long awaited relief."

" W. . .What do you mean?" Manta stammered nervously. " You're starting to freak me out."

A thin smile slid upon Hao's face.

" Does this have anything to do with your so-called lessons for Yoh?" Lyserg asked suspiciously.

" It has everything to do with the lessons of Yoh," Hao said lightly. " And the only reason why I have not been found out for such a long time is the fact that I still have a secret power hidden from all of you."

Their eyes widened.

" A hidden power?" Horo asked curiously.

" Yes." Hao said. " I thought Lyserg would know what I was talking about by now, since he spent so many of his years thinking of way to kill me; to find out my every weakness, and most importantly, my every strength."

All eyes were on Lyserg, who just stared back at Hao with a confused expression before it turned into shock and understanding. Hao nodded and crossed his arms across his chest. " That's right." he said, cutting into Lyserg's speech. At this, he turned to Ren, whose brow was furrowing deeper and deeper. " Why do you think Ren forgot such a small part of his life?" he asked the others casually.

" Wasn't that because of. . ." Manta started.

" I was lucky when you thought it was because of his fight with an attacker." Hao cut in, and Manta stopped abruptly. "I would think not. When he found out my true intentions I just simply had to manipulate his memory to forget everything from the moment he approached me in the library."

Ryu rose to his feet, arms raised.

" Don't." Yoh said plainly, and Ryu stopped in mid-action; turning to Yoh, hiseyes wide. Yoh looked up at him. " Let him finish whatever he has to say." he said. "Nothing comes out ofacting rash."

" You truly have grown up, Yoh." Hao said, amused.

" This sounds like a horrible joke, Hao." Faust said, suddenly seeming angry.

" And you want proof." Hao said, grinning, reading Faust's mind easily as day. After looking at him for a moment, Hao turned his attention back to Ryu, who after a moment of silence, sat back down again. " Since you want proof, I'll give it to you." he said quietly. " Has any of you seen Bason hovering near him while he was under my control?" he said. At this the coffeeshop suddenly seemed to darken, and thenlightened from the others understanding. " Also. . .has any of you seen Ren approach Pirika while he was under my control?" he continued, pointing his finger at Ren, whose face was ridden with sweat. Hao smirked. " Didn't think so."

" You piece of shit!" Horo Horo roared, getting to his feet this time, but in a second Yoh's hand was raised, stopping Horo Horo in his tracks. Horo's eyes widened and looked down at Yoh, whose gaze did not meet his, but was looking back at Hao. " Why did you choose Ren, of all people?" he asked his brother sullenly.

" Good question." Hao chuckled. " And in return I shall give you a good answer. I knew that in order to lay out my plan successfully, I couldn't do it by myself. I needed someone on the inside, and in a second I thought of the person I needed. Ren Tao. He was the smartest one out of all of you, and by far the most trusted. I believe I told that to you once, didn't I?" he said to Yoh, grinning; an action that for once Yoh did not return. " But just by that point alone it was not enough. So there was another fact added; he was the sole person besides Yoh thatAnna truly trusted. Hell, I believe she trusted Ren to further heights than Yoh. Thus, this added another point in my favour."

Yoh's face seemed to turn sour.

" So Ren was a piece on your chessboard." he said.

" Yes he was." Hao said. " His magical powers were well under mine, and I had a full amount of time to keep him well under my control. Throughout these last few months I have been feeding all of you hints of Ren's greatness of a friend, and what a loyal person he was. I think Yoh should remember most vividly."

_Hao smiled. " Do people like Ren show to you acts of kindness?"_

_Ren stopped trying to ambush Hao from behind and paused._

_" But yet you know he's your friend." Hao finished._

" Yeah." Yoh said sullenly, as Horo finally sat himself down.

The air at the table was so thick you could have cut it with a knife, and yet Hao was still smiling loungily. " I guess I should start from the beginning, shouldn't I?" he said. " It would be far too confusing if I just skipped back and forth with random scenes."

Silence.

" I'm still in love with Anna Kyoyuma." Hao said quietly, not looking at them now, but at the cup of coffee before him. " Ren was the first to notice this, and I realised straight away he was a threat to my well-being. However I could not do anything to him, because I knew I would need him later on. I believe Anna told you that I confessed my feelings to her, and in exchange she wanted me to give her a back rub. Despite what I did, she still shot me down. From the start, I wanted to try my luck with love again and paid a visit to the Asakura Household, only to see Yoh hanging up on the ceiling fan. That certainly was amusing." he added, his lips twitching.

He took a sip of coffee before continuing. " I found out from Yoh that Anna punished him for peeking at her in the shower. At this, I knew that the two of them still had not had physical contact yet. Thus, I used this as an excuse to get closer to Anna. In other words. . ." he said, looking straight into Yoh's eyes. " I did those lessons for my own gain, not yours. I believe I gave you a hint I would be getting Anna for myself before."

_" She's really beautiful." Horo said, grinning at Yoh, who just turned another shade of red. " I would have gone after her long ago if it wasn't for the facts that she was Yoh's fiancé and that. . .well. . .she was so. . ."_

_" Scary." Ryu finished for him._

_" And that if she wasn't Yoh_ _s fiancé, I would be with her anyway." Hao said calmly._

" You were serious when you said that?" Horo asked, eyes wide.

" Yeah." Hao said. " Every word. Except she would still be mine even if she was Yoh's fiancee."

Yoh's hands gripped the cup before him, his knuckles whitening.

" But thanks to that, I found out Anna's sole weakness." he said, smirking. " From the start I wondered what was Anna's weakness, and finally I know. She's afraid of close contact." he finished, and Faust spat out the coffee that was in his mouth.

" Yes, that was my reaction at first too." Hao said, as Eliza wiped Faust's mouth gingerly. " I didn't believe it at first when Yoh told me Anna was embarrased that he peeked on her in the shower, so I did several other tests. At the night club before Anna saw you flirting with the girl at the bar, I hid you from view. As I did so, when our faces were close, I licked my lips. Obvious reaction, she blushed. That was test two. The third was the test with Horo Horo's tapes."

" That's strange." Yoh said, his eyebrows raised. " I didn't tell you about it."

" I read your mind when I entered the front door." Hao said.

_" It's twenty dollars for a picture." Horo said, smirking. " But knowing you, you'll pay much more for that, won't you?"_

_Meanwhile, Yoh was blushing like crazy._

_A picture of Anna. . .wearing nothing at all. . .God, that would be heaven. That would be. . ._

_" . . .Yoh being a pervert." came an amused voice from the door._

_They looked up, and their eyes widened to see Hao grinning at them. " Sorry if I read your mind, Yoh." he said. " It's the thing that I'm most proud of. Apart from being so damn attractive, that is."_

Yoh's eyes widened and Hao grinned.

" I guess you remember." he said. " You hid the tapes, but somehow they appeared on the table where Anna could find them easily."

The air seemed to turn rotten; sour like expired milk.

" It was you." Lyserg said, eyes wide.

" That's right." Hao said lightly. " I chose that one night where you promised to bring Anna out for dinner; one, to allow the romance between the two of you to slowly dispearse, and two, to let her be alone to watch the tapes by herself.I'm surprised you didn't want me to change the date for going out. The second time where you brought her out to dinner, I used a voodoo doll on you, to make you visualise Anna doing sexual actions to you. You thanked me, but then again I don't think you ever wondered. . ."

" Why you chose that moment to give it to Yoh." Ren snarled.

Hao smirked.

" Yeah, I suspected Ren was suspicious of that all along. I purposely did that so Yoh would not try to do anything to Anna in real life, for them to not have any romantic moments that night, and to make Yoh seem like a total idiot to her eyes. Later on Yoh asked me to give the same drug to Anna, but I refused, giving all sorts of lame excuses which you totally bought."

Yoh shivered.

" I did not want to take any chances to let Anna fall for you, and later on when Ryu requested it from Opacho, I secretly added a hiden ingredient inside it."

Yoh's eyes widened.

" What did you put in?" he asked.

" I used another test to confirm Anna's weaknesses." Hao continued, ignoring Yoh. " I did a bet with Ren to see if he could seduce Anna, knowing that his tactic to pick up women was by rough play. That was what he demonstrated in the night club anyway. I also knew his pride in his own way of seduction,which meant he would definetly take the bet in order to not look like a coward.Anna was afraid of contact, so I thought that would confirm my suspicions. However, Ren was too good a friend to be rough to Yoh's fiancee, and did a soft, sweet move. My plan, for the first time, failed.I tried it again; knowing Anna's timetable, I made sure she would catch me making out with a girl. I made a bet with her that if she could read Yoh's mind, she would find out how perverted he was. This was tosee the reaction of her hearing all the perverted thoughts of her precious fiancee.This plan succeeded extremely well."

" What drug did you put in?" Yoh asked once again.

Hao grinned.

" I made her dream of me." he said matter-of-factly. " I made her dream of me raping her inside the library. Finally, it was confirmed. Although unwilling, she was filled with lust for me."

" Asshole." Yoh muttered, gritting his teeth.

" But one thing did not go according to plan though." Hao said, taking another sip of coffee. " I knew that my control over Ren was dangling by a very dangerous thread."

" What do you mean by that?" Amidamaru suddenly implored.

" When a person is sleeping and you give him a sharp pinch, he wakes up." Hao said matter-of-factly. " It's the same concept. As long as someone so much as phurts Ren, he would regain conciousness. Thus, when he raged a fight with one of my 'friends', I knew that he would get injured, and my power over him would quickly disappear. But it was emminent that he would regain conciousness sooner or later; I was timing him by my stopwatch, and knew he only had a few days left before I had to do away with him. Whether it was lucky or unlucky of me, Ren got a blow in the head, and 'forgot' a certain part of his memory. He didn't forget it because of the blow, he forgot because he was under my control."

Bason looked up at his master worriedly, and found him drenched with sweat, shaking from head to toe.

" Kino sent two spies after me." Hao said, getting to his feet. " That old lady is under my control now. Just give her an injury; even the slightest of cuts, and she'll snap out of it straight away."

" Where are you going?" Manta yelled after him.

Hao smirked and turned around.

" I'm going to take my chance with love once again." he said.

The others rose to their feet concurrently, glaring at him with utmost hate.

" You wouldn't dare." Faust whispered.

" Try me." Hao grinned, making motion to leave.

" You- - -" Ren roared, taking a step to attack Hao when Yoh stood in front of him, looking right back at Hao. His eyes were not dead as one would expect, they were alive; a fire that had long been thought to be extinguished was lit once again.

" Let him go." Yoh said, and the others stared at him with looks of shock. Hao stopped in mid-step. " I knew all along of his yet still undying love for Anna. I just trusted him to not take action."

Hao said nothing.

" You'll still go after her no matter what I do or say, wouldn't you, dear brother?" Yoh said, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

" That's right." Hao said quietly.

Yoh sat himself down on the chair behind him. " Then go." he said.

Hao turned around, not a look of shock on his face, but one of pure anger and resentment. " I do not need your consent or obligation, Yoh Asakura." he said, his voice bubbling with rage.

" No, I do not think you do." Yoh said lightly.

Silence.

Several other customers and waitresses inside the coffeeshop had already started to look from their tables to see what the commotion was all about.

" Are you not afraid that I would rape or hurt her?" Hao said.

" If you did, I guess by that I would be sure that you were not in love with her, wouldn't I?" Yoh said serenly.

Hao just stared at him for a full minute before turning his back to him and the others.

" Your explanations have loopholes, though." Yoh pointed out to him as Hao made his way to the door. " Why did you not choose to put Anna under your control instead? Why did you not murder me when you had so many opportunities? What is your true motive, Hao?"

Hao had his hand on the door handle by now.

" I guess that's something you can only dream to find out." he muttered, wrenching the door open, facing the rain that falling from the sky in buckets. " The coffee is my treat this time." he finished. " Enjoy your hot cups of coffee while you can. God knows if that's the last source of comfort you and your pitiful lives can find."

With that, he slammed the door behind him.

The whole coffeehouse seemed to just focus on Yoh now, who just sighed and placed his cup of coffee down. " He won't harm Anna." he said quietly. " I know he's not a very nice person, but he would never harm the woman he loves. I can guarantee that."

" That's not the point, Yoh!" Manta exclaimed, speaking up all of a sudden. " What if he manages to steal Anna away from you? What if that was his true plan all along?"

" At this point, I don't know what to expect anymore."Ryu said miserably, sitting himself down on the chair behind him. " I was convinced from the start that Hao was our friend. . .What should we do?"

" All we can do now is wait, I guess." Ren said resolutely, and the others stared at him. " I doubt that Anna would even think of choosing Hao over Yoh; she detests the sole being of him. Besides, nothing comes out of being rash. The one person who should be the most worried is calmly sipping his tea. . .so I guess we don't have any reason to panic."

Yoh smiled up at him. " That's right." he said peacefully. " But even though he admitted being our enemy from the start. . ." he started, lifting the cup of coffee to his lips. " I still think he is our friend."

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Hao shut the door behind him firmly and made motion to walk foward when he saw Sumiko standing in the rain, an umbrella in her hand. He walked over to her, remaining expressionless as continued to move until they were just noses apart. The stood there staring at each other for a moment until Hao finally spoke up.

" I guess you heard everything, didn't you?" he said sullenly.

" Yes." she said quietly. " Yes I did."

" Was it worthy enough to write point-by-point into your little memo that you plan to give to Kino?" he said sarcastically.

" There's no use in that," she said flatly. " You have her under your control now, don't you?"

" That's right," he said.

Silence.

" So I guess you believe I'm a spy for her, don't you?"

" I know that," he said. " Frankly speaking, I don't care less what the Hell you are. Stay in my house, move out, commit suicide, do whatever the Hell you want. You came here to spy on me, didn't you?"

" No." she said. " I brought you an umbrella."

" You do know water simply bounces off me, don't you?" he said, voice so calm yet so gripping. " Or did you simply forget?"

When she said nothing, he simply stepped past her.

" I will be back late tonight." he said. " Tell Opacho I won't be home for dinner."

With that, in a burst of flames, he disappeared.

Sumiko just stood in the rain, looking at her feet silently.

" Yes," she said. " Hao-san."

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There was nobody in the house.

Something that had not happened for the past eight years. Anna was so used to Yoh and his friends popping in and out of the house that with them amiss, the house suddenly seemed as hollow as the insides of an egg cup. She made herself coffee before sitting down in front of the television set, sighing peacefully. " I should tell Yoh to get out of the house more often," she said, sipping her coffee approvingly. " I haven't had a quiet moment in this house since the day I moved my things in here to stay with him. I should give him a call to tell him to take his time to get back. Every girl deserves some time along once in a while."

At that, like a nasty joke, the doorbell rang.

First she made motion to answer it when she stopped and shook herself, taking another sip of her drink.

" I didn't hear anything. . ." she muttered to herself.

The doorbell rang again.

" I'm having my afternoon shower, the water's turned on so loud I can't hear the doorbell ringing. . ."

The doorbell rang, once again.

" What was that catchy song from that diaper advertisement? La la dum. . .da le dum de dum. . ."

The doorbell rang for the fourth time.

" Hold on. . .it was La la dum **dum**, da le dum de dum. . ."

It was as the doorbell rang for the fifth time when she placed the cup of coffee on the table and glared at the door menacingly. Muttering multiple curses within single sentences, she walked over to the door, unlocking it with sheer brute force. " Whoever this is, it better be good or I'm going to rip out your heart and stick it down your throat!" she yelled, opening it to come face-to-face with Hao Asakura, who was holding up a packet of rice crackers like a peace offering. His face bore the usual annoying smile.

" Having a good day?" he asked pleasantly.

" Right before you came." she muttered; her body still blocking the entrance of the doorway. " Where's Yoh? I thought you were having dinner with him?"

" He's still at the coffeehouse with the others." Hao said calmly. " Can I come in?"

" What for?" she asked suspiciously.

" Relax," he said, chuckling. " I just wanted to wait here for him; I finished eating before the others, so I said I'd head back here first. What, you think I killed all of them?"

" One can never let their guard down when Hao Asakura is involved."

" My, you're starting a fan club all for me, aren't you?" Hao said, chuckling, as he walked past her, removing his shoes as he stepped past the door mat. She glared at him for a moment before walking in right behind him, and paused as he sat himself down on a chair in the living room. He sat there leisurely for a moment before grinning up at her, shrugging his shoulders. " Are you waiting for me to invite you to take a seat?"

" Shut up." she snapped, sitting down. " I do whatever I want whenever I want."

" That's sweet." he said. " Is it alright if I have a drink?"

" No." she said coldly.

" Do you have any coffee here?" he asked, ignoring her reply.

" You were at the **coffee house**."

" Where's your whipped cream? I hate it when I don't have that on top of my espresso. It's almost unhealthy to have coffee without toppings." Hao said, once again ignoring her reply.

" Hao, what the Hell are you here for?" Anna demanded, and Hao stopped. " Just cut to the chase, will you?"

It was at this when he stopped looking for the cream and shut the cabinet before turning around to face her. " You're not a woman who's fond of small talk, aren't you?"

" No, I can't say that I am."

He scratched the back of his head.

" Anna. . ." he started uncomfortably, and she cocked her head. " I love you."

" That's a good one," she snorted. " The great Hao Asakura falling for the imperfect Anna Kyoyuma."

" I think you're perfect." he said quietly, looking deep into her eyes.

Something inside her broke, but she shook it off. This was Hao Asakura who was standing before her. Not Yoh, Hao. Nothing that he said could be believed, nothing he stated could be trusted.

" You never cared about anyone in your life," she said. " Why the Hell would you suddenly fall in love with me?"

" What do you mean **suddenly**?" he asked, his voice suddenly turning sour. " You very well know that I've had deep desires for you since the day you slapped me during the Shaman King Tournament."

" That was six years ago." she snorted.

He said nothing.

Her eyes widened.

" I heard what Yohmei said to you." he said calmly, taking a bold step towards her. " He said that I was like the river, and that my feelings and emotions could change at any moment of time. I actually agree with him; if I was you I wouldn't trust myself either. However. . ." he continued, taking another step towards her. " Why are you the one person who no matter what I do, I can't erase from my heart?"

Anna, for once, felt her heart soften towards him.

" Hao. . ." she whispered softly.

" I still have your birthday present, by the way." he said, managing a small smile as he pulled out the necklace that was hidden under his coat. When she said nothing to that, he took one final step towards her until they were just noses apart. A sad smile lit upon his face; his hand reaching out to stroke her cheek affectionally. Surprisingly, she did not pull away. They just stared at each other as Hao threaded his fingers in her silky blonde hair. " You're really beautiful, you know that?" he muttered quietly. " If I didn't see you at first I would have thought you were an angel that dropped from the sky. Everything about you is unblemished, your legs. . ." a lone finger stroked her thighs and she shivered. " Your waist. . ." he went on, his devilish fingers drifting up to her upper body. " Your breasts. . ." he said, raw hunger in his eyes and she shivered. " . . .All the way to your dreamboat eyes." he finished, a small smile on his face.

Anna bit her bottom lip.

Damn, he was good at this.

Her brain was screaming at her to pull away, to slap him, to just stay as far as possible away from him. But something inside her was begging for his touch; so full of desire and so lustful that it scared her.

" I know you're tired of your current life, Anna." he said to her. " You're misunderstood by Yoh and all his friends. None of them dares to touch you, to talk to you, or even to stay in the same room alone with you. In a strange way, I'm the only person in the world who truly understands you."

Her hands gripped her dress tightly.

" Come with me." he said. " I'll love you forever and ever. And you know that I will."

" I. . ." she started.

He pulled her towards him into a hug and she gasped at the sudden contact. He moaned as he took in a waft of her intoxicating perfume, and pulled her tighter to him, just wishing that they could stay in this embrace for eternity. He had never been so close to her before, and he was unwilling to let her leave his side again. It was as he placed small kisses on her neck when she pushed him away, an oddly unguarded and troubled expression on her face. " I want you to leave, Hao." she said in a voice of forced firm. " Please. Get out of my house."

" Why are you denying me, damn it?" he yelled, frustrated. " You know that my love for you is ten times stronger and deeper than the respect that Yoh has for you! He's too afraid of you to do anything intimate with you. That fear would soon turn to mistrust, to dislike and then eventually hate! Why can't you see the light, Anna? Why can't you see that I love you more than Yoh loves you?"

" That may be so. . ." Anna said silently, almost mercilessly. " But I love him."

His face fell.

" . . .Not you."

God, she wished she felt as confident as she sounded. There was an internal struggle that was going on within her; his words were so strong and powerful that there was actually something within her that wanted to follow him. Yet there was something else inside her. And that part of her belonged solely to Yoh Asakura, the man she loved. She was about to leave when she noticed a lone tear falling from his face, and her eyes widened. He wiped it away hastily, looking away from her.

" I'm sorry." she said, feeling a pang of guilt.

" Don't be." he said lightly. " It's not your fault you hate me, right?"

" I don't. . ." she started, and he blinked. " I dislike you. I could never. . .hate you."

He let out a somewhat forced smile. " Thank you." he said, bowing. " That's better than nothing, I guess."

She laughed rather nervously, and he smiled.

It was at that when he turned away from her and started to make his way to the door, pointing to the packet of rice crackers that he had left on the table. " Those were for you." he said. " At first all I wanted to do was to give them to you, but I ended up bawling like an idiot. Immature, isn't it?"

" You should do that more often." she said, and he turned around.

" Excuse me?" he asked curiously.

" You're too professional at your work." she said. " Whatever you do is fixed; pick-up lines are rehearsed, actions are practiced, even jokes and stories are copied from other people."

He looked at her with a dawning expression.

" Is that why you chose Yoh over me?" he asked. " Because he was imperfect?"

" You'll never know that, won't you?" she said, smiling slightly before turning around. " Goodbye, Hao."

He watched her walk away for a moment, wiping away the last of his tears before running up to her. He grabbed her hand, turning her around to face him. " Do you remember Yoh's birthday?"

" Yes. . ." she said slowly.

" Remember when you lost to me in a bet and had to do one sole thing for me?"

" Yes. . ." she said again.

" I said I wanted you to kiss Yoh. But do you know what I really wanted?"

Yes, she did.

" Please let me kiss you." he whispered.

She just stared at him as he touched her cheek softly, before closing the gap between the two of them. As soon as their lips touched each others, Hao moaned and pulled her closer to him, wrapping his arms around her slim waist. She whimpered as she placed her arms on his chest in a vain attempt to pull away from him. It was seconds, minutes, hours before he pulled away from her, both of them panting for breath.

He looked at her for a minute before putting on his shoes, turning his back on her for the last time.

At that moment, something dawned upon her.

" Hao. . ." she said slowly. " Wasn't that. . .?"

" Yes." he answered. " That was my first kiss."

And at the snap of his fingers, Hao burst into flames before vanishing from the front of the Asakura Household.

Anna pressed her fingers to her lips gingerly before walked over to the door and sighed.

" Hao. . ." she whispered. " I truly am sorry."

On the other end of the door, Hao smiled sadly.

" Yeah." he said, a tear falling from his face. " I know."

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Yoh sipped his coffee.

The others waited.

Yoh put the cup down, wiped his mouth, smiled at a nearby waitress before taking another sip of coffee.

The others waited.

" Are you quite done, Yoh?" Manta asked, eyebrows raised, rapping the table. " All of us have finished our coffees already, I've never seen you enjoy a cup of mocha so much before."

" Well, today's batch tastes better than yesterday's, anyway." Yoh said calmly.

" That's true." Faust said, as Eliza dipped two sugars into his coffee before handing it to him.

" Yoh, what the Hell are you doing?" Horo asked impatiently. " You do know that Hao placed a curse on the coffeehouse to lock everyone inside it until all of us finish drinking our coffees, don't you?"

" Yes, I suspected he would do something like that." Yoh said, ever so peacefully, grinning as two teenage girls struggled with the vice-like doors, slamming their bodies against it.

" Then why don't you just bolt it down?" Lyserg asked, impatiently now.

" It seems like such a horrible waste." Yoh said, smiling at him.

Ren opened his mouth to argue when he noticed something. The similarity between the expressions of both Yoh and Hao in the past was appalling, and he finally realized what Yoh was doing. He was giving Hao time. He did not know why Yoh was being so merciful to a man who found out Anna's sole weakness, physical contact, but when Horo mentioned Hao's name, there was that small smile that curved upon Yoh's face, seemingly like a recognition, like a sign of forgiveness.

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Sumiko was sitting at the dining table alone, reading a book quietly while chewing on a lemon when the front door suddenly opened, and there stood Hao Asakura, looking tired and forlorn. She ignored him as he stepped past her and sat down on the chair opposite her, flipping to the second page sullenly. He took a second glance at her before walking over to the refrigerator. " Did you cook anything for dinner?" he asked.

" I'm not a good cook, Hao-san." she said mildly.

" Oh." he said, his stomach growling. " Never mind then. Are you free tomorrow morning? There's this new sushi restaurant that just opened two blocks from here. I was hoping to try it out for breakfast."

She shut her book. " I thought you wanted me to leave." she said.

He blinked.

" I was upset when I said that," he started, feeling strangely guilty about the whole ordeal. After all, it wasn't her fault that she wanted to bring him an umbrella. " . . .I'm sorry."

She lay the book down and removed the spectacles from her eyes. " I'm sorry too, Hao-san." she said softly. " I've been lying to you about my identity from the very second we met. I was sent from Kino to spy on your every move."

" Yeah, I guessed that she would do that. But there's no need for that anymore anyway," Hao said sullenly, sitting down beside her. " Because I doubt Yoh and the others would let me take a step near them anyway."

" The incident in the coffee house?" she asked shrewdly.

" Yeah. . ." he said sheepishly. " Do you think I was too hard on them?"

" A tad, Hao-san."

He nodded, before grinning at her.

" What's with all the formality?" he asked, laughing slightly. " Just call me Hao."

" I can't do that."

" Well. . ." he said, raising his eyebrows.

" Would Asakura do?" she said.

" Er. . ." he started, before sighing. " I guess so."

" Thanks." she said quietly. " . . .Asakura."

He smiled at her before getting up from his seat.

She continued to chew on her lemon before taking it out of her mouth. " I've been spying on you for around a week now." she said quietly. " And I noticed something about you that I didn't think I would; being the fact that you have so many friends, and have had so many past relationships."

He stopped in his steps, his back facing her.

" And what would that be?" he asked.

" You're lonely."

Time seemed to stop right there, and Hao turned around to face her. She had already got up to her feet, and was walking over to him, a strangely concerned look on her face. Everything else other than the two of them had seemed to cease moving, and Sumiko suddenly seemed like a sole human being in a puppet show. The birds outside the window seemed to stop flying, a dog was standing up against the tree in mid-bark, a man outside had one foot in mid-air, the other leg being the only thing keeping him to the ground. It was like the whole world outside had stopped for this sole moment. He looked at her, bewildered, and she just stared right back at him.

" What do you mean by that?" he asked.

" I see you crying in your sleep." she replied without a trace of emotion. " I see you spending most of your time alone in your room, looking out the window. You have no photographs of your loved ones, you do not get phone calls from friends to ask you to go out for the movies, or even to have dinner together."

He just stared at her in bewilderment.

" You've been doing your research." he said.

" Well, I've- - -" she started, but she was cut off by Hao's lips pressing firmly against hers.

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" Hao confessed to you?"

" Yes," Anna muttered. " I told him to forget it because I still belonged to Yoh, and I'm sorry to say this, but I'm feeling rather guilty about the whole ordeal."

Tao Jun sighed and scratched the back of her head, looking at Anna in somewhat of an appraising look. " What I'm worried about the most now is Hao's current emotional state."

" What do you mean?" Anna asked, puzzled.

Tao Jun sighed rather sheepishly. " That's right, you don't have a clue about feelings, don't you?" she muttered under her breath before her face turned serious once more. " When a man is feeling downright depressed because he was shot down by the woman he loves, he most likely will feel strong feelings for the girl nearest to him."

" But Hao's living without any females in his apartment." Anna said.

" Is that so?" Jun said, sounding relieved. " Then that's alright I guess. The most Hao would do now is to hit night clubs and sleep around. Which is pretty similar to what he did before you shot him down, anyway." she finished, the corners of her lips twitching.

" But what would it be like if Hao was living with a girl?" Anna asked curiously.

" Well, it's pretty understandable if Hao acts the way I think he would." Jun said, shrugging. " Emotions are pretty tricky things, you know. After being shot down, a man feels unflatteringly insecure. Especially a playboy like Hao. Suddenly, the closet woman next to him would seem unexplainably attractive."

" Would that be long term?" Anna asked.

Jun sighed.

" That's the sad thing." she said. " It's usually in the heat of the moment. . .I sincerely believe that he will regret whatever he does the next day."

" That's pretty tragic." Anna said.

" You think?"

" I guess it's good that Hao lives in a house devoid of females."

" I guess so." Tao Jun agreed.

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" Oh God. . ."

Hao pushed Sumiko backwards against the table, one of her hands hitting against the table behind to stop herself from falling, the other clenching the coat covering Hao's chest, her eyes wide open with shock. However, the one most surprised in the room had to be Hao himself. It was just not like himself to act on impulse. Yet, somehow, he did not want to stop. He did not know what had come over himself, or why, but he was lost in Sumiko's lips; a raw hunger overcoming him as he longed to touch her, to kiss her, to love her.

He grasped both her milky legs before pushing her onto the table, laying her down before getting on top of her. He pulled away from her for a second to look deep in her eyes, and there was something in them that he found unexplainably attractive. There was fear, and there was confusion. As he buried his face in her neck, biting down hard on it to receive a painful gasp from her, he found out she was similar to Anna in many ways. One was that both of them were silent, hard to approach and mainly just plain beautiful.

The other thing was that they never had close contact with a man for all their years of living, and it excited Hao to know he was the one who would soon take over one of them. One of his hands dug into her skirt, his fingers pressing against her secret place, and she moaned, her hands pressing against his chest desperately.

" Asakura. . ." she breathed.

" Call me Hao," he muttered, a finger drawing onto her black blouse, ripping off the buttons, and shrugged it off her shoulders, leaving her in nothing expect a black bra. He pressed his lips against hers now, more forcefully still, and she gasped as his tongue entered her mouth, his hands still continuing their furious assault onto her body.

" Asakura, please. . ." she pleaded.

" It's Hao, Sumiko." he whispered, pressing kisses on her pale skin.

Her body was nowhere compatible to Anna, but she was beautiful in her own way; her skin was pale and white, her body was still sculpted to perfection. He practically had to force his finger into her, hearing her let out a strangled cry, trying to push away from him in vain. He smirked deviously, inserting a second finger into her now, listening to her painful cries. God, this felt good. He bet she would be crazy in bed. Not anywhere near Anna, though, but. . .

His eyes widened.

Anna. . .?

He pulled away from her, leaving her on the table, half naked. She grabbed up her clothes, looking at him in fear. He looked away from her, getting to his feet. They stayed in this position for a moment, silence filling the entire household except for the dull tick of the clock on the ceiling of the kitchen wall. " I'm sorry," Hao muttered. " I don't know what came over me just now. . ."

She said nothing, her breath still coming out in pants.

" Are you free for breakfast tomorrow?" he asked.

" I guess so." she said silently, desperately trying to breathe normally again.

" See you then." he said, walking away from her, but stopped at the entrance of the kitchen. " Once again. . .I'm sorry." he said before exiting, his footsteps heard making its way up the stairs until it was silenced by the slam of a door.

Sumiko put on her shirt quietly.

" It's alright." she said.

But Hao did not answer her.

Nothing answered her but the dull sounds coming from the darkness of the night.

END CHAPTER 22

Well, this chapter was a trifle longer than the others, wasn't it? Proud grin Yes, I know. Well, finally Hao's secret is out for everyone to hear. However, is this the whole truth? Or was it just a white lie? The other side of the story will be out in one of the last three chapters. Well, I have one last exploding news to tell you. Yoh and Anna most likely will. . .er. . .make love, in either the next chapter, or the one after. How great is that? I'm amazed I've been able to hold these two lovebirds off for twenty two whole chapters! Damn, I have to tell you, it took a lot of willpower in me. The next chapter will be back to love and romance, everyone! Ren and Pirika might get their romance scene together, while Yoh and Anna might finally get their loving moment! I promise chappie 23 will be up as soon as possible!

Just some background info, I love the number 23. It's Michael Jordan's The Greatest basketball player in the universe jersey number and it is a number to be respected. Well, you might not care much about that, but I just wanted to remind everyone about his greatness. Lolz. Please look forward to chapter 23!

Writers love reviews, Please be a responsible reader, and review if you enjoyed the chapter! Feedback is what I need the most from all of you:) Well then. . .see you soon!


	23. Finally, What You Were Waiting For

Chapter 23 is here. Ah, the beautiful number. Anyway, you might have to wait for a few more chapters to get to Hao's other side of the story, so please don't hate so soon yet. Lolz. Reminder, please vote in my website polls and sign in my guestbook if you have the time. (Takes a bow) This is my slightly, thought very much full of love, early Christmas gift to all you readers out there. Enjoy your lovely holidays! Please read and review everybody!

**Warning: Lemon Scenes In Due**

CHAPTER 23

" Is the party still on?"

Yoh raised his eyebrows at Horo Horo as the whole group of them made their way back to Yoh's house. " What are you talking about, Horo Horo?" Yoh asked questioningly, and Horo gaped at him.

" You forgot? Remember the party that I asked you to have? Then Anna voted against it, and you voted for it? And then you persuaded Anna to vote for it, by saying she could get a lot more friends, and that she was now silently popular, and you wanted her to be openly popular, and she said that she did not care of what others thought of her, and then you told her in a manly voice that you did?"

Now it was Yoh's turn to gape.

" I thought you were busy fighting with Hao and Ren?"

" I heard it too, actually." Ren muttered behind them.

Yoh just gaped at them for a few minutes before shrugging. " I don't see why we have to call it off. All we have to do is pick up the phone and call up people to invite."

" Do we call invite as well?" Ryu asked.

The light conversation seemed to turn sour immediately, and all of them besides Yoh showed expressions of hate or dislike. " Don't be stupid." Lyserg muttered. " You heard how long Hao has been planning to snatch Anna away from Yoh. Inviting him to the party would seem like an act of forgiveness."

" I agree." Faust said darkly. " He might get bolder if we forgive him for doing this traitorous act. Knowing he could get away with this, the things he would do would obviously worsen."

The others shivered in agreement.

" I think there's another side to this." came Manta's voice. They turned around to raise their eyebrows at him, and he smiled nervously. " Because in whatever case, Hao has always been a good brother to Yoh. Except for him trying to steal Yoh's fiancee away of course," he added sheepishly as Lyserg opened his mouth to argue. " Because I think there were too many loopholes in Hao's reasoning. There were so many unanswered questions that it seemed like he was leaving out details on purpose."

" Maybe he's just trying to seem mysterious." Ryu guessed pointedly.

" I think it's for something much deeper than that, Ryu-san." Manta said sheepishly.

Ryu, at this, was stumped.

" I agree with you on that, Manta." Yoh said, smiling at his vertically-challenged friend. " I don't think he would have told us his reasons if he was truly planning to take Anna away from me, if you know what I mean."

Ryu, at this, was stumped deeper into the ground.

" Yoh, the man is twisted." Ren said. " You can't possibly be thinking of forgiving him, could you?"

" He's my brother, Ren." Yoh said earnestly.

" That doesn't really prove a point." Horo Horo said impatiently.

" Is that so?" Yoh said, his voice sounding silky at this point of time. " Then, let me ask you this. Your sister has just robbed a bank, murdered somebody, stole over millions of dollars, and as she is hiding from the police, she approaches you and asks you to give her a place to stay. Would you take her in?"

" You're being slightly dramatic here. . ." Horo said sheepishly.

" Answer my question." Yoh said.

There was a moment of silence that passed before Horo sighed.

" Yeah, I would have." he answered. " No matter what she would have done."

" I guess that answers your question right there, didn't it?" Yoh said, at that point noticing that they had arrived at the front gate of his house. " Well, here's my stop. I guess I'll see you guys in school tomorrow, right?"

" Yeah." Lyserg said, smiling slightly. " Goodnight."

" Goodnight." Yoh answered, giving the others one last smile before entering his house. As soon as he entered, he found out that something, once again, was amiss. There was no usual blare from the television, there was no pissed off Anna standing at the doorway with a frying pan ready to beat him over the head with for being late. There was just a beautiful young woman with silky blonde hair, standing at the balcony, looking up at the stars above. A small blush appeared at his cheeks as he stepped up behind her, his hands in his pockets.

" Penny for your thoughts." he muttered.

She did not answer, and for a moment there he almost thought that she had fallen asleep. " Hao told me he loved me." she said to him quietly.

He made his way until he was standing right beside her before nodding his head knowingly.

" I know." he said.

She let out a suppressed chuckle before bowing her head. " You know that I loathe your brother," she said silently. " I never liked him from the second we first met to the time he confessed his liking to me. But somehow. . .when he walked out the door when I shot him down. . .there was something about him that seemed so lonely."

Yoh said nothing to that.

" Did he try to force himself on you?" he suddenly asked.

She blinked, surprised. He turned to her, his eyes shrewd with question. After staring into each others eyes for some time, Anna finally shook her head. " No." she said, sounding a little shocked by her own answer. " No he didn't. It's odd when I think about it now. Isn't Hao the type of person who's used to getting what he wants?"

" I think he is." Yoh said. After that, nothing was said, except for Yoh's silent mutterings under his breath

" I feel sorry for him," Anna said, after a long while. " And yet I'm afraid."

He turned to her.

" Afraid of what?"

It was her turn to blush at this moment, and she looked away, chewing on her bottom lip. " I'm. . .I'm. . .I'm afraid he's going to takeawaymyvirginity."

Yoh raised his eyebrows, pondered on what she possibly could have said before laughing and hugging her from behind, earning a gasp of shock from her. " Well, there's one perfect way to make sure he does not do that," he said lightly, smiling down at her, his hands on her waist now, cuddling her in between his hands.

" Oh yeah?" she said wirily. " And what's that?"

" Will you make love to me?"

At that, she promptly pulled away from his and slapped him well across the cheek. He stepped back, his eyes wide with shock, but Anna's assault on him did not stop there. " You're the most. . ." she started, slapping him again. " . . .disgusting. . ." she continued, slapping him once more. " . . .person. . ." she snapped, slapping him the fourth time running. " . . .in the world." she finished, sporting two final slaps on his cheeks, walking away from him huffily.

Cheeks still burning in a very different way from Anna, Yoh still stood there, staring at her back. " I'm serious, Anna." he said quietly, and she stopped.

There was the distinct sound of a car passing their house at that moment, and she only spoke up after the sounds halted to a stop. " I'm not ready yet, Yoh." she said.

He nodded in obvious disappointment, sighing.

She turned around, a rather seductive smile on her face, and he blinked in surprise.

" Does tomorrow sound good to you?" she said, soon following with the widening of Yoh's eyes, the broad grin that formed on his lips, and the kiss shared between the two of them.

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Ren took off his shoes gently and made his way into his house, opening the door that lead to his household when he was suddenly greeted with a gun holster pointing to his head. Taking a brave step backwards in alarm, he sighed as he realized who it was. " It's just me, grandfather." he said restlessly, and the old man dropped the gun to his side, smirking at his grandson.

" Sorry." he said. " Old habit. You feeling alright?"

" I'm fine." Ren said, scratching the back of his neck uncomfortably. Somehow, despite years of getting the same gun being pointed to his same head by the same deranged old man, it never failed to make him feel a sharp stab of shock before plunging into restlessness. " What are you doing here anyway? I thought you said you were going out to dinner with a couple of you. . .er. . .gun-welding friend."

" I was." the old man said, a strange glint in his eyes. " But something came up."

" What, they couldn't make it?"

" Idiot." he answered. " They're cowboys."

" Oh. . ." Ren said with raised eyebrows, wondering how his question and his grandfather's answer had anything in relevance. " I see. Then what are you doing here?"

" You have a visitor." he answered, winking at him before walking away from him. " I had to make sure she did not take anything from your room." And with that, he walked off, shutting the front door behind him. Ren just stared at the area where his grandfather previously stood before sighing and made his way to his room, his hands stuffed in his pockets. He opened the door, only to find Pirika sitting on his bed, chewing her bottom lip; looking up as soon as she heard the door open.

" Pirika." he said simply.

" Ren. . ." she said timidly.

Silence.

" Aren't you going to ask me how I got in here?"

He raised his eyebrows. " If you want me to." he said. " Is that common courtesy to you?"

" N. . .No." she answered, blushing furiously.

He blinked. Pirika certainly was acting strange these few days. He made his way to his table, about to ask her something when he spotted the picnic basket next to her on the bed. " I. . .I got you something to eat." she said. It was at this when he finally realized what was going on. She still believed that he had lost all his memory from the blow that he took; probably also wiping out the memory of the two of them dating. He was about to explain this to her when he stopped himself in time, a small smile curving up on his lips, which he kept well away from Pirika's view.

This could be fun.

" Oh." he said in false dullness. " Thanks."

He could see her lip tremble at the corner of his eye, and he felt a sense of guilt, but ignored it, smirking. She was trying to act out the day when they finally got together. God, this was rich. " So when do you plan to leave?" he asked. When he received no reply, he turned to her, ready to laugh when his eyes widened at her tear streaming face.

" So. . .It's true that. . .You don't. . .remember. . ." Pirika choked between tears.

It was then when he realized he went too far.

He took three quick strides over to her and swooped her up in his arms, smiling warmly at her. " Sorry, I was playing you along." he muttered, wiping her tears away with a rough caress of his thumb. " I remember everything that happened. From the moment you brought that stupid lunch basket into my room till the moment we made love in my Tao Manor." Her face burned as she pulled away from his, her face practically spelling out anger.

" So you lied to me?" she spat out. " For the past few weeks you treated me like a fool? Like a toy?"

" No, it's not like that," he said earnestly, pulling her to him, despite her struggling. " I was under Hao's control for weeks, and it's only today when I found out what truly happened. I was merely kidding around with you for the last ten minutes."

" Then. . .why do you remember us. . .making love?" she asked, failing to hide the blush on her cheeks.

" Because that was before I confronted Hao." Ren explained. " It's a long story, and I don't want to talk about it."

She chewed on her bottom lip pitifully, pressing her fingers gingerly onto his forehead. " God, I've been so stupid for the past few days. . .sneaking peeks at you with whatever chance I got. . .crying in my room by myself. . ."

" My poor baby." he whispered, pressing his lips onto her, in which she wrapped her arms around his neck longingly, tears continuing to fall from her face. " There's got to be some way in which I can repay you."

" I'm sure we can think of something." Pirika said, a small smile on her face now, her hands on the belt on his pants.

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Hao was woken up the next day by the sudden sound of his bedroom door slamming shut, and sat upright with a start. Sumiko just stared blankly at him, a lemon in her mouth. " Sorry, Asakura." she said sullenly.

" It's alright." he said, rubbing his throbbing head. " What are you doing in here?"

" You said you would bring me to breakfast, did you not?"

" Huh? Oh. . .Oh right, that." he muttered, slapping his head before grinning rather sheepishly at her. " I'm sorry, I totally forgot to tell you that I have school today. I'll bring you there for dinner, alright?"

" Oh." she said. Her face remained expressionless, but there was something in her eyes that showed signs of disappointment. It was times like this when Hao hated the fact that he could not read her mind. " It's alright then." she said. " I was planning on visiting my brother in the hospital today anyway."

He just looked at her for a moment before getting to his feet, opening his wardrobe. " Oh." he said. " Is that so?"

She said nothing.

" I'd better be going out." she said, turning her heel to leave the room. " You do not want me to see you naked, do you?" At that, she slammed the door behind her. He stood there in silence for a moment before sighing and scratched the back of his head. " I wonder what school would be like without Yoh and the others as my friends." he said quietly, grabbing clothes out of his wardrobe before shutting it. " I guess that's something you have to experience personally, right?"

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Anna opened her mouth.

Anna chewed.

Anna took a sip of water before placing the cup down.

Anna took up a piece of meat with her chopsticks.

Anna chewed.

Yoh gulped.

Somehow, after last night, everything that Anna did seemed sensual and just simply naughty. Her sitting on a chair, her eating and drinking, or even her sleeping. He shivered before getting back to his food, failing to notice Anna catch a glimpse at him before looking away. God, she never thought her heart could beat so fast. Just looking at Yoh sitting there made her feel his arms all around her, his clever hand working their way down her clothes. . .

Both of them shivered at the same thought.

" Yoh," she said, her face still nonchalant.

" Yes, Anna?" he asked hopefully.

" Do we have any more rice left?"

He raised his eyebrows at her half-eaten bowl of rice before looking back up at her with a confused expression. " But you haven't finished eating your portion yet." he said.

" Does that mean I can't ask?" she said menacingly.

" Eep," he muttered before chirping out, " No, you can ask. Yes, there is rice left. Just waiting for you to eat."

" Good." she said, before getting back to her food.

Damn, why was Anna acting like nothing happened the day before? Wasn't it her who said that today would be the day that they would. . .

" Pass the soy sauce." Anna said bluntly.

He smiled at her before placing the bottle gently by her side. After watching her dab the sauce onto her chicken for an amusing moment, he went back to his food and thoughts. There was just something about Anna that confused him. Her moods were like the wind, changing every so swiftly and silently without a warning or a caution from others. If it were to be like the rain, at least she would be noticed by weather reports and television forecasters. However, they were not always correct, and. . .

He paused.

What the Hell was he talking about in the first place, anyway?

" Give me seconds, Yoh." Anna said, passing her bowl to him.

He gave her a sheepish smile before taking it in his hands, standing up to his feet, and walked over to the rice cooker. Anna watched him go, a small smile creeping up on her face. God, Yoh was cute. Yet, she was afraid of what would happen at some time this day. She chewed on her bottom lip, looking at herself before shivering. That was something that she had been doing a lot lately. It was not because of the weather; she was sure of that. She always knew there would be the evident day where Yoh and her would make love for the first time. However, when the time finally came, she was not sure whether it was too early or too late.

" Here you go." he said to her cheerfully, handing the bowl to him.

She said no word of thanks; something that he was used to, and sat himself back down on the chair behind him. They sat there silently for a minute in polite self-thought before Anna finally laid down her chopsticks, and Yoh looked up at her, hopefully still. " I'm full." she said plainly. " I'm going to school now."

He sighed and bowed his head.

" Yes, Anna." he said gloomily.

She walked off before taking a second glance at him.

She smiled.

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Sumiko stepped into her brother's room, chewing on her bottom lip furtively. She did not spend as much time in this room as she expected she would be, and somehow she felt guilty about that. She shut the door behind her before sitting down on a chair next to his bed. " Hello, Ejio." she said silently. The unconscious boy did not answer, and she sighed. " This was the reason why I asked you not to follow me in the first place," she said almost coldly, dropping the flowers on the table near his bed. " Kino asked me to go there alone as she knew you would get hurt somehow. Yet, you still wanted to follow me to spy on Hao Asakura."

" I did not send you to spy on Hao." came a voice behind her, and she blinked.

" Kino?" she asked. " I thought you were still under Hao's power?"

" Ren gave me a small cut on my hand, and told me everything." Kino said grimly, sitting herself down beside Sumiko.

" Oh." Sumiko said sullenly.

" I did not send you to spy on Hao." Kino said, looking down at her feet. Sumiko looked up at her, her face still emotionless. " I only used that story in order to not worry Ejio, and to use that as a back up story in case Hao asked. I knew he would not kill you for the false reason I gave him; hiding the true reason away from him."

" And what was the true reason behind all this?" Sumiko asked shrewdly.

" Come on, Sumiko, don't tell me you still don't know." Kino said, chuckling. " You're the girl whose IQ topped 200. Surely you can think of something."

Sumiko said nothing, and Kino sighed.

" I sent you here to cool his burning desire for Anna Kyoyuma." she said, and Sumiko blinked.. " I thought that if you appeared, his burning desire for Anna would disappear. Clearly was wrong."

Sumiko's eyes widened.

" So. . ." she said, the truth finally dawning upon her. " I was just your toy?"

" Not a toy, never!" Kino said harshly. " Just a distraction for Hao to keep him away from my Yoh's fiancee!"

" That's what it seems like now, isn't it?" Sumiko snapped, getting to her feet, the chair behind her, crashing to the ground loudly. " The mission was a fluke! You lied to Ejio, you lied to Hao and you lied to me! My dear brother's breathing out of a tube because of your foolish play-acting," she spat angrily, pointing at the unconscious Ejio. " And you're still standing there acting calm and until now, still uninjured!"

" I did this for Yoh's sake, Sumiko!" Kino snapped. " Hao is not a man to be trusted!"

" Hao Asakura is not a bad man!" Sumiko screamed. " I. . ."

She stopped in mid-sentence, and yet Kino knew.

" You love him, don't you?" Kino asked, suddenly seeming tired and forlorn.

" No, I. . ." Sumiko started.

" That's why you finally realized what emotions were." Kino said. " No wonder you finally understood what anger was."

" It was because of you, Kino." Sumiko said, her temper rising.

" And you found love because of Hao Asakura." Kino muttered, ignoring her completely now. " Sumiko. . .Hao is not a man to be trusted. He will not, and does not love you."

" I trusted you for years, Kino." Sumiko said fiercely. " Maybe the same thing can be worked in the opposite for him."

" You heard what I said, right?" Kino said. " Hao will not. . ."

" I know that." Sumiko said quietly.

Kino stopped. For a moment there it almost seemed like Kino was going to say something when she merely shut her eyes tiredly and picked up her walking stick that was propped up against the wall. " I suppose you wish to continue to stay at Hao Asakura's apartment?" she murmured. " If you wish to leave, I will send a letter to him as soon as humanly possible. . ."

" I'd like to stay, thank you." Sumiko said, emotionless once more.

Kino sighed before nodding, opening the hospital room door. " I came to visit Ejio. Please give him my condolences. I do hope that he would find it within himself to forgive me."

" I certainly hope he does not." Sumiko said coldly.

Kino smiled slightly.

" Just like Anna in every way." she whispered, and before Sumiko could question that, she shut the door behind herself.

00000000000000000000000000000000000

" The evening Mister Utterson came home to his bachelor house in somber spirits and sat down to dinner without relish. It was his custom of a Sunday, when this meal was over, to sit close to the fire, a volume of some dry divinity on his reading desk, until the clock of the neighboring church rang out the hour of twelve, when he would go soberly and gratefully to bed.." Lyserg read out loud, flipping the page to continue his monologue in the front of the class. Yoh twirled his pen between his fingers, sighing. They had just started reading ' Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde' in Literature class, and frankly speaking, Yoh was bored to death by it.

Somehow, the name sounded familiar to him; like he had heard someone introduce it to him before. He frowned, before turning his attention back to the class, in which he was welcomed back to earth with the sweet sound of Anna's voice.

" . . .as soon as the cloth, was taken away, he took up a candle and went into his business room." she said, so soft and so calm, yet so compelling in a voice that almost demanded attention. Most of the time, she really did force him to listen to her, anyway. When she finished speaking, the class clapped for her, and she sat down on her seat. He scanned the classroom, and found the person usually next to him missing. He sighed. Hao had barely been around them the entire day. It was almost as if he was the one who was angry with Yoh and the others.

It was at this moment when he remembered.

" _Yoh, have you read the book ' Dr Jekyll and Mister Hyde?" Hao asked pleasantly._

Yoh blinked.

Hao had asked him to read it.

For some reason he did not know why.

" Yoh Asakura, could you read the next paragraph?" Yoro-sensei asked him, his eyebrows raised.

Yoh got to his feet, and gulped. " There he opened his safe," Yoh said out loud. " Took from the most private part. . ."

He heard a snigger from the class, in which he suspected was Horo Horo.

" . . .of it a document indorsed on the envelope as Dr. Jekyll's Will, and sat down with a clouded brow to study its contents." he said, pausing for a moment as he caught eyes with Anna.

He looked at her.

She looked at him.

He smiled.

And she smiled back.

" Yoh Asakura," Yoro said, his eyebrows raised. " Would you care to finish the remanding of the paragraph?"

" Oh, right." Yoh said clumsily, earning laughter from the class.

It was at that moment when the bell rang, and Yoro grinned at the class. " Well, you all are left off the hook. I want a 50-word summary on the first two chapters on the story. We shall continue chapter 3 in the next lesson."

Earning several groans and angry mutters from the crowd, they started to pack their things and left the classroom in one slow blob. It was as Yoh was about to pass Yoro's desk when he cleared his throat, and Yoh turned around, looking at his teacher questioningly. " I would like to speak to you in private for a moment, Yoh." Yoro said, grinning at him. " No worries. I just need five minutes of your time."

Yoh turned to Anna, who was standing beside him.

" I'll wait for you outside." she said, stuffing her hands in her pockets, making her way out.

Yoro and Yoh watched her leave for a moment, and it was only when she slammed the door shut when their attention turned back to each other. " Very charming girl-friend you have there, Yoh." Yoro said, smiling warmly. Yoh bobbed his head, not knowing what to say. Yoh was not accustomed to speaking with teachers, because they usually spent their time yelling threats at him, and he was not given a chance to rebuke during those periods of time. " I wanted to speak to you about the book that we started reading." Yoro said, waving the novel at him cheerfully.

Yoh blinked.

" Yes. . .sir?"

" Do you know why I chose to teach this book to the class?"

" Er. . ." Yoh said, scratching the back of his head. " Because you believe it will provide us with an enriching and. . ."

" You don't think I believe in that shit, do you?" Yoro said, smirking.

" No, I don't." Yoh said, grinning, liking this new teacher very much. " Tell me. Why did you?"

" I'm not supposed to tell this to you, because your brother wanted me to keep it from you. I'm telling you because. . .well. . .well, I just want to. But he personally requested this book to be taught in this school." Yoro said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. " Please don't ask me why."

Yoh raised his eyebrows. " My brother?" he asked.

Yoro bobbed his head before dropping the book on the table. " I suggest you read it." Yoro said. " There might be a hidden meaning within these pages. And I think it's not quite hard to find out."

Yoh just stared at the book for a while before looking up, smiling at his teacher. " Thanks, sensei." he said, bowing before running out the door. Yoro stood there for a moment, in silent wondering as he pulled a cigarette to his mouth, was in the process of lighting it when he stopped and sighed. " Come out, Hao." he said. " You know you can't hide from me."

In a burst of flames, there stood Hao Asakura, grinning like a schoolboy on high. " Hello, sensei." he said. " Thanks for helping me out."

" No problem. . .light my cigarette, will you?"

Hao gave him a withering smile before lifting a finger, a small flame appearing on the tip.

Yoro took a short puff before releasing the cigarette from his lips, grinning. " Thank you." he said. " I have one small question though. Why did you choose to introduce this story to the class? Couldn't you just have asked me to recommend the book to him for self-reading?"

Hao raised his eyebrows at him.

Yoro blinked before sighing.

" Yeah, I get your point." he said. " Yoh can't read a book to save his life."

Hao grinned before bursting into flames, and disappeared into thin air.

" But neither can you." Yoro grinned, sticking the cigarette back between his lips.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Kino opened the cupboard.

She raised her eyebrows.

She shut the cupboard.

She opened the cupboard.

She raised her eyebrows.

She shut the cupboard.

" What's going on here?" Yohmei asked, eyebrows raised. " I feel like I'm watching some rerun from Internal Affairs."

Kino repeated the process two more times before shutting the cupboard once more, before scratching the back of her head. " There are only two left." she said. Yohmei's eyebrows, if possible, seemed to raise even higher, and Kino pointed at the feathers in Anna's sock cabinet irritably. Finally seeing the point, he nodded his head approvingly. " That shows that she's finally going to break out of that box she always was in."

" Dumbass." Kino muttered. " The feathers mean nothing. It's just that they increase when Anna gets angry or sad, and it decreases when she feels happiness or. . ."

" I know the drill, Kino." Yohmei said impatiently. " Why do you seem so worried?"

" Well," Kino said, sitting herself down on a chair behind her. " It's just that. . ." she paused before sighing once again and glared down at the ground below her. " Anna gained her magical, and may I add in very strong, abilities because of her amazing amount of street knowledge, her brilliant mind, and her cold sullenness."

" What's your point?"

" Yoh's the problem!" Kino hissed. " He's making Anna softer than heated up jelly! I swear, he's making her more prone to emotions than she was with the ten years I was with her! It's true that giving her emotions is a good thing. I want my granddaughter to be a girl with feelings. I don't want her to be a lovesick puppy! I doubt she would be able to match up with Hao Asakura anymore!"

" Since when was Anna able to match up against Hao anyway?" Yohmei asked, eyebrows raised.

" Don't make it sound like I'm the bad person here." Kino said to her husband warningly, pointing her finger at him. " Remember Sumiko, the girl devoid of all emotions?"

" Oh yes, her."

" Barely a week has passed with her in the vicinity of Hao and she has already fallen in love with him, backed him up when I criticized him and yelled at me! She actually yelled at me! Can you believe she yelled at me?"

" Yes, how terribly rude of her." Yohmei said, rolling his eyes. " You're taking this too seriously. Sumiko and Anna, no matter how you look at it, are beautiful young women. They are not to be single forever, and you know it. Sure, I am not fond of Hao Asakura. But Sumiko can handle herself even if she weakens, and if Anna weakens, wouldn't Yoh be right there by her side?"

Kino stayed silent for a moment before sighing.

" I guess you're right." she said silently. " Sorry. I guess I took this the wrong way."

" It's alright." Yohmei muttered.

Kino looked up at the skies above.

" I wonder what Anna and Yoh are doing now?"

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Yoh had fought with men three times his size.

He had been beaten, kicked, hit, sliced with knives, shot at with guns, burst at by lasers and zapped by enormous amounts of lightning bolts. He had went through the Tunnel of Hell for nearly a week without food, been slapped by Anna more times than all his friends added together and had actually died and come back to life two times. . .

And yet he was getting the jitters of having his first night with his fiancee.

God, this sounded pathetic.

To make himself sound even more pitiful, he had crammed everything possible about sex the night before and during recess in school. Firstly, he watched every moment James Bond had with women to try and get his suaveness. That came to no avail, and he wasted thirty whole dollars for the cost of renting all those DVDs. Recess that day was the worst of all, and he wished that Hao was still his dear brother once again.

" _You see, Yoh, what you have to do is to be a car racer." Horo Horo said in the most sensible voice he had ever managed to speak. Him, Yoh, Ren and Lyserg were sitting in a circle at the lunch table, all of them giving him as many tips as humanly possible while Chocolove and Manta stalled time for him. _

_Yoh raised his eyebrows at him._

" _A car racer?"_

" _Yeah." Horo said, gobbling up his mashed potatoes. " First, you have to start_ _off nice and slow._ _The reason you do so is that you would still have energy at the end of the race. With every passing moment, you get faster and faster. At the end, when you see the winning flag in sight, you burst your fuel with everything you've got."_

" _I guess that's true in a very twisted way." Lyserg said, scratching the back of his head._

" _Don't listen to these idiots." Ren said impatiently. " I'm going to tell you step by step procedures, so please listen closely and carefully." _

" _What if Anna comes back before you can finish?" Yoh asked anxiously._

" _Trust me, there will be two slaps to signal us Anna has gotten fed up with them."_

_Yoh rolled his eyes before grinning._

" _Alright, please tell me." Yoh said, almost desperately._

" _Firstly, you always have to start off with a great kiss." Ren said. " The kiss is always something that matters above anything else. Girls usually decide how good you are in bed by the way you kiss."_

" _Should Yoh do French, or. . .?" Horo asked dimly._

" _Don't do French." Ren snapped, and Horo hung his head. " No tongue at all. Listen to me, Yoh. In movies, girls like French kissing. Girls seem to like tongue dueling, but they only act like they like it to please you. In reality, they like a slow kisser. A man who treats them like the ultimate treasure in their hands. Don't run your hands up and down her body. Just leave them on her waist, and only until she wraps her hands around your neck then you start to remove her clothes. Sound simple enough for you?"_

" _I guess." Yoh said, scratching the back of his head. " What goes after that?"_

" _Compliment how beautiful she is. They usually don't bat an eye when you say it to them in the open, but in bed even the slightest compliment is going to drive them wild into schoolgirl blushes. However, don't make compliments of her breasts, because she's going to wonder what's wrong with her ass. Compliment her legs, she's going to wonder about her hands. Just say she's beautiful, or ' God, your body's amazing.' " Ren said. " I suspect Anna is going to wear her school uniform, because I don't think she's going to get out of those clothes. "_

" _How do you. . .?" Yoh asked._

" _Trust me." Ren said firmly. " Don't forget this is her first time too. She's not going to dare to wear anything else. She does not want to look unattractive, and she does not want to look sexy. She'll stay in what she is in. I notice her hair is tied up tonight, so remove the hair band first. Let her hair bounce off her shoulders before kissing her again. That's not so difficult, is it?"_

" _No, not at all." Yoh said, grinning. " What next?"_

" _Remove her shirt," Ren said, smiling back. " But don't take off her bra." he added warningly, and Yoh blinked._

" _Why not?" Lyserg asked, unable to conceal his curiosity._

" _Just a normal trait I never do." Ren said, grinning. " You'll find out when you get as experienced as me."_

_The others would have rolled their eyes if they were not so interested for further information._

" _Remove her underwear, finger her for a few minutes before exchanging your finger with your lips."_

_Yoh shivered._

" _Easier said than done, Ren." he said._

" _I know." Ren said. " But I know that you will know. Now let's go on, because I don't think we have much time left. It is after she orgasms for the first time, then you take off her bra. Kiss her brea. . ."_

_There was a loud slap from a few tables away from them and they winced._

" _First one." Lyserg muttered._

" _Kiss her breasts, suckle them, and then kiss her lips again." Ren said hurriedly. " While you're kissing one, massage the other gently with your fingers. Don't rub though, you're going to make her feel in pain, not aroused."_

_Yoh was sucking in more information than a soap did of water in a swimming pool._

_SLAP_

" _Second one." Horo muttered._

" _That's where you remove her skirt, and you try to come as late as humanly possible, any questions?" Ren finished quickly. No sooner had he been done, Anna sat down beside him, glaring at Manta and Chocolove who were coming up behind her, red marks almost imprinted on their faces. Yoh pitied them from the bottom of his heart. _

" _Yoh!" Pirika said, bouncing up to the table._

" _No, my name's Ren." Ren said, smirking at her._

" _I'll come to you later, lover." Pirika said, smirking at him. " Yoh, can I have a minute?"_

_Yoh blinked, surprised. _

" _Yeah, sure, of course." he said, getting up._

_Pirika led him until they were inside an empty classroom before shutting the door behind them and smiled at him. " I overheard the guys giving you advice on how to make love to Anna properly."_

" _Oh." Yoh said, his face reddening. " Promise not to tell?"_

" _Oh, I won't." Pirika said, smiling. " But I have to let you in on a little secret."_

" _Oh?" Yoh asked. " What's that?"_

" _All that advice that Ren told you?" Pirika said. " He didn't use a single one of them when we first made love."_

_Yoh's eyes widened._

" _He. . .He didn't?"_

" _No." Pirika said, laughing. " You're getting this all wrong, Yoh. What's between you and Anna is not standard pick-up lines, or trained sex positions. It's the love that's between you that makes her so attracted to you. That alone would make you good in bed."_

_Yoh's shocked face turned into a warm smile._

" _Thank you, Pirika." he said. " You're a cool girl."_

" _You're welcome." Pirika said, smiling back. " Besides, I'll know if you're good in bed or not."_

" _How?" Yoh asked._

" _Anna's going to tell me." Pirika said, winking at him. " I'll tell you what she says, alright?"_

_He grinned rather sheepishly. _

" _Yeah." he said, not knowing whether his was good news or bad news. " Thanks."_

" _No problem."_

Yoh shivered.

Anna raised her eyebrows at him.

" You alright?" she asked.

" Yeah." he said. " I'm fine."

He almost forgot where they were for a moment. They were walking on their way home alone, and had just reached their doorstep. They just seemed to stand there for a moment, not knowing whether it was a better idea to just get into the bloody house or to just run for cover. Both choices sounded equally appealing. Yoh sighed and stuffed his hands into his pockets. " Shall we get inside?" he asked, almost talking to himself now. Anna gulped, nibbling her bottom lip anxiously. Was it just her, or did Yoh's cheerful words suddenly seem husky and full of lust?

" Anna?" he asked her, cocking his head.

That's right. She was Anna Kyoyuma, wasn't she? And she was a girl that was sullen, quiet and obviously dominant. If she wanted to keep that name, she would have to act Anna-ish, wouldn't she? " I'm fine." Anna snapped. " Now get inside and help us make dinner, will you?"

" Yes, Anna." he muttered, hanging his head.

She stuffed her hands in her pockets, slowly walking behind Yoh, purposely moving slower than he was. What would they be like after their first night together? Would he start calling her 'Honey'? Would she still be able to see him eye-to-eye? Would he have attractions to another girl because she already 'put-out' with him? Would he still love her if she declined him tonight? Dozens of unanswerable questions filled her head, and it was taking everything within her to stop herself from smacking Yoh at the back of his head for looking so calm and peaceful.

" After you, Anna." he said brightly, opening the door for her.

" Thank you." she said grimly, stepping past him, entering the house.

Yoh shut the door behind her.

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" It's going to be a Christmas party, isn't it?" Pirika asked Ren, who was in charge of the guest list, while Pirika was in charge of the invitation cards. Ren raised his eyebrows over the massive pile of blank cards that surrounded her. " Not quite." he said to her, leaning against the card mountain. " It was meant to be an end-of-the-year party at first, but then Yoh found out that by doing that only people from our school would be invited."

" Yeah, that's a good point there." Pirika muttered.

" He then wanted to make it an all-who-can-come, semi-Christmas, semi-End-Of-Year, semi-New Year, and semi-International Friendship Day. Kind of catchy, isn't it?"

" Very." Pirika muttered, rolling her eyes. " Are we inviting Hao?"

" Of course not." Ren said stiffly.

" But it's all-who-can-come party, isn't it?"

" Yes, but. . ." Ren started, before Yoh's voice came into his head once more.

" _Then, let me ask you this. Your sister has just robbed a bank, murdered somebody, stole over millions of dollars, and as she is hiding from the police, she approaches you and asks you to give her a place to stay. Would you take her in?"_

He blinked.

" On second thoughts. . ." he muttered, earning a small smile from his girl-friend, who wrote down Yoh's brother's name on one of the cards. Ren gave a weary smile before getting to his feet.

" I would take her in." he whispered quietly.

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To the utter surprise of Anna, none of Yoh's friends dropped by their house for a free meal. She glanced sideways at Yoh with raised eyebrows, but he merely shrugged before getting back to his food. She took a small glance at the area where Manta usually sat before laying down her chopsticks, sighing. " I'm full." she muttered. " I think I'm going to get a shower."

Yoh laid his chopsticks down too, at that.

" At this point of time," he said silently, and Anna stopped in mid-tracks. " I'm supposed to spot out your nervousness and tell you that it will be alright if you don't want to do it tonight, and that I can wait. The truth is that I can't wait, and I would love to officially call you my wife."

Anna felt the heat rise up in her cheeks, turning around to meet Yoh's eyes.

" Yoh. . ." she whispered.

He stood up, tucking in his chair, stepping up to her. Every movement he had was slow and purposeful, almost giving her chances to move or walk away. But she stood rooted to the spot, watching him in silent admiration. It was until they were barely inches away when he lifted up his hand to graze her cheek softly. " I love you." he whispered, leaning in on her, until their lips were barely a centimeter away. She knew he was waiting for her to bend in. She knew he would not dare to do anything without her permission. God, she loved him.

She loved him.

Yes. . .she loved him.

" I love you too." she whispered before pressing her lips against his. His heart leapt as he kissed her back, not with fierce lust, but softly and sweetly. In his mind, he was frantically trying to remember everything that Ren told him, where to start, where to end, what to do. . .

But it was as her arms wrapped around his neck when he just stopped thinking; letting the man inside him take over. His hands strayed from her cheeks to her waist, carefully placing it there. It was after a long kiss when he finally pulled away, leaving her whimpering, desiring for more. " Anna, I will only do this if you're ready." he whispered, fighting the strong urges within himself to just pounce on her. " Are you?"

Her lower lip trembled before smiling slightly at him.

" I am." she whispered.

" Can I do anything I want to you?" he asked her silently, his fingers on the hair band that was securely keeping her hair in a tight bow. She let out a shuddering breath before nodding her head, and he had to admit, it was one of the most erotic things he had seen her do for years long. He gave a soft tug, and her hair fell, bouncing off her shoulders. He dropped his hands to her sides and tugged out her shirt from the waistband of the skirt, and she blushed slightly at that. His hands slowly made their way to her blouse, looking up at her nervously. Yet she said nothing, and he slowly unbuttoned each and every one of her buttons, watching her constantly under his furtive eyes. It was when he reached the final one where he looked at her once more, almost asking her for permission.

She looked away, and he shrugged the shirt off her shoulders, letting it sail to the ground gently. He let in the breath that he was holding. She was wearing nothing but a black bra on her chest now, and the sight was just reverberating. He fell to his knees, his clever hands creeping up her skirt.

Anna shivered as she felt his hands tug her panties down to the ground, and yet she still stepped out of them as he pulled it down her feet. Almost purposely slow, he stuffed it into his pocket, smiling at her sheepishly. She should have been annoyed. Yet she smiled drunkenly, feeling slightly pleased that he wanted a souvenir from her. His head disappeared under her skirt now, and it was not long before she felt his lips press kisses upon her nether regions.

She moaned as she felt his fingers part her 'lips' apart, inserting a finger into her. She felt her knees weaken, and yet she stood her ground, but almost lost it as she felt his tongue dip into her. She had never felt feelings like this before. A strange, hot, boiling feeling seemed to erupt inside her, almost desperate for her to release. " Yoh," she moaned, gripping the couch that was beside her. Ignoring her, he inserted another finger into her, earning a cry of pleasure from her. He let out a small smile; he had been desiring for this moment for years now. To make the great Anna Kyoyuma have her first orgasm. His tongue lapped at her even more furiously now, and he felt her sag to the couch beside her even deeper now, and his grin broadened. " Here she comes," he whispered under his breath, and before Anna could even question that, she felt his tongue lap at her with furious abandoning, his next finger slipping into her warm crevice.

Her insides ere bubbling with hot, steamy passion, and she gripped at the top of Yoh's head, almost pleading at him to stop. It was then when words left her, and she gasped out loud; her legs clenching together against Yoh's head and came for the first time, moans erupting from her throat. Yoh smiled softly to himself as he pressed finals kisses to her inner legs before smiling up at her.

" How was it?" he asked innocently.

" Damn. . .you. . ." she muttered, her breath coming in short pants.

He smiled at her softly as his hands fell upon her bra, feeling along the straps, until he noticed her look of anger had soon turned into a slightly coy look. " It's in the front, Yoh." she whispered, a sly smile creeping up on her face. He smirked at her slightly as he unhooked it and pulled it off her chest, taking his breath away for a minute. " God, you're so beautiful." he whispered, bending low, and pressing his lips onto her breasts, hearing her gasp at the contact.

He suckled softly on her left, massaging gently on the right, earning small moans and whimpers of encouragement coming from her mouth; her hands cradling his head to her chest. " God, I love you." he muttered, pulling away from her swollen nipples before attacking furiously on her other.

" Me. . .too. . ." she breathed.

He smiled softly. At least that was one thing that Ren had not lied to him about; women were usually more emotional in bed, which suited him just fine. He suckled her, he kissed her, he licked her, he nibbled her. . .he did everything possible to her breasts before pulling away, both their faces hot and red with sweat. His eyes never leaving hers, his hands reached down to unzip her school skirt. Wordlessly, her hands were on his shirt now, and with one fluid moment, all the buttons were undone, and she shrugged it off his shoulders.

He gazed at her, amazed.

" How did you do that?" he asked.

" It's simple magic." she said, smiling brightly.

" Must remember to keep that in mind." he muttered silently, as she giggled, her hands on his pants now, and he let out a smothered sigh as she felt her hands graze his crotch. Which was something that never went unnoticed by the watchful eyes of Anna. This was one of those times she decided not to poke fun at him, knowing how much power he had over her now. She never expected his chest to be so muscular. God, he looked so buff and sexy. . .Her eyes glanced upwards before mentally slapping herself and concentrating on the task at hand.

He removed her of her skirt and she did of his pants and boxers, and they just stayed they looking at each other in appalling amazement. He pulled towards her and kissed her. This time it was not gentle, but full of passion and love. Her arms wrapped around his neck, her mouth opening slightly and pressed her tongue against his shut lips. His eyes widened in wonder.

Didn't Ren say. . .?

Oh to Hell with it.

He opened his mouth and her tongue swooped in, meeting his, and he moaned out loud as their tongues danced; dwelling each others with such equal passion and fire that it frightened him. They both fell to the floor in each others arms; their hands were everywhere, his hands were at her breasts, at her waist, in her hair, everywhere. . .and she did not seem to give the slightest of a damn.

Yoh positioned himself directly above her, gazing down at the goddess below him. " Your body is incredible." he whispered, earning a blush from her. " It's taking everything within to keep me from taking you savagely."

" I don't know whether to be aroused or obliged." she said, lips twitching.

" I'll give you a sec- - -oh, too late." he said, and she laughed.

His hands gripped her shoulders, his expression serious now, and she sobered up.

" This might hurt, Anna. . ."

" I know, Yoh."

" Tell me when to stop. . ."

" I won't."

He looked at her, annoyed.

" Anna, I'm worrying for you now." he said.

" That was what I did when you were battling against so many enemies before you in the Shaman Fight, Yoh." Anna said inquisitely. " What would you do if I. . .told you to stop?"

He smiled witheringly.

" You're a wonderful woman, Anna."

" And you're a pussy, Yoh."

His lips were on hers, and he pulled away once again, this time to put on the protection needed, and she let out an involuntary smile.

" Here goes. . ." he whispered a minute later, and she shut her eyes tightly, wrapping her arms around his neck, chewing at his neck, bracing herself. The pain in her nether area was so sharp and so piercing she bit down hard into him, and soon after she looked at him. He just smiled at her.

" How is it?" he asked.

" It's. . .alright. . ." she whispered, feeling the pain slowly ebb away.

" That's good." he muttered, pulling out of her for a moment before thrusting into her, and she moaned in a way so pleasureful she even caught herself off guard.

" God, that certainly turned me on." he said, lips twitching.

" I'll kill you if I weren't enjoying myself so much." she said, smirking, before noticing that his neck was bleeding. Her eyes widened, remembering that she had bit into it previously. " Yoh. . ." she said, her expression softening.

" Don't worry about. . ." he said, plunging into her more forcefully now, and she yelped, gripping onto him. " And start worrying for yourself."

" Ooh, nice one." she said, sarcastically now, thought she had to turn the last word into a gasp as he forced himself into her harder. " Did you get that one from Hao or Ren?"

" It was Chocolove, actually." Yoh answered.

" You Goddamn better be joking." she said with gritted teeth, moaning as he pressed kisses on her neck as he continued to thrust in and out of her.

" You sound like you're talking to him already." he said, surprisingly brave. Was this the thing that was missing in their relationship? Sex? Was this boundary why Yoh feared her? " Surely you respect me more than that?" he asked, hammering into her entrance harder and harder now.

" I. . .Can't. . .why. . .uhh. . ." she moaned, gripping the carpet as she bit her lower lip to prevent herself from screaming out loud. " Please. . .I can't take it. . .I'm going to. . ."

" Didn't get that." Yoh said cheerfully.

" You deserve to die." she growled.

" Now you sound like you're speaking to Horo Horo." he said.

" I'll. . ." she started, when she gasped out loud, bucking her hips, clawing at his neck with her fingernails as she came for the second time, spilling herself inside him.

" Didn't get that one." Yoh said, almost haughtily now.

" Alright, wise guy, that's it." she growled, pulling herself away from him, and he blinked. Had he gone one step too far? Apparently so. At the look of her, she was going to give him the worst torture ever. It was as her hands grazed his crotch and he whimpered when he realized he might not be the one in the higher position for long. " You think you're such a Sex God now, don't you, Asakura?" she asked him in a voice so alluring he shivered.

" _Anna can get any man in the palm of her hand." Hao had told a bunch of them at the bar one night grimly. " Even me."_

Lord have Mercy.

Her tongue lapped gently against his member and he moaned. " Didn't hear that one, sailor." she muttered before dipping her head, and he moaned, gripping her hair forcefully. She pulled away, smirking at him. " Hands off, if you please." she said.

" Sorry," he mumbled, his hands threading out of her hair.

" Now where were we?" she asked, plunging her head down almost immediately, her hands tugging at his member forcefully at the same time, her mouth making noises he only dreamed she would make.

" Anna. . ." he gasped, feeling himself coming.

She moaned his name, and he shuddered.

" Anna. . .oh Anna. . .please. . .I can't take it any more. . ."

She smirked, and yet whimpered all the same, and he bit his lip.

" Alright. . .alright! I'm sorry for teasing you! Oh God I can't. . .I can't! Oh God, Anna, I'm going to come!"

With that she lifted her head up, wiping her mouth.

" So sorry I took so long, Yoh darling." she said pleasantly. " I was just having a drink."

Only Anna could have said that in a dignified, erotic, and yet innocent voice all at once.

" Damn you." he growled.

" I love you too." she said, haughtily.

Their eyes crossed before kissing each other once again before pulling away.

" I'm sorry for teasing you," she said, her voice pitiful, yet her eyes still bore laughter. " Will you please make love to me?"

" Lord Have Mercy," he muttered out loud now, forcing himself into her now, earning a whimpering, gasping moan from her. He stared deep into her eyes as he thrust again and again into her, watching her body quake and quiver in his arms, her eyes filled with lust and passion. This was the moment he had been waiting for. He loved her more than anybody and anything, and that was not going to change.

Never.

" Yoh. . ." she whimpered, clutching his shoulders, letting out an involuntary shudder. " I think I'm going to come."

" Please hold it for a minute," he muttered, desperate for release.

" Yes. . ." she whimpered. " Oh yes. . ."

" Oh God, Anna." he moaned, gripping at her now; her hands had gone wild in his hair, pulling him as close as possible to her.

" Yoh. . ." she whispered through gritted teeth.

" I'm going to come, Anna." he moaned, thrusting into her faster and faster now.

" Oh God. . .yes. . ." she gasped.

It was at that moment when he shut his eyes, his insides bubbling with painful release.

" ANNA!" he yelled, feeling her inner walls clench up against his member.

" Yoh!" she screamed, bucking her hips, coming so hard she felt pity for Yoh's ears. He did not seem to mind so much, though. It was as the two of them let out shuddering gasps, both their heads buried in each others arms when they let go of each other, and fell onto the floor, both sighing in relief and satisfaction.

There they sat.

Silence.

Anna scratched her head.

Silence.

Yoh let out a cough.

" I'm going for a shower." she muttered, gathering her clothes before walking off, and he sighed, chewing on his bottom lip. This was just what he was afraid of; for things to be uncomfortable between the two of them once they had finally made love for the first time. He was about to continued to look up at the dull ceiling when she noticed her eyes were on him, a seductive smile on her face. " Of course. . ." she whispered, inserting a finger into a mouth, and Yoh let out an involuntary shudder. " I'm not going to take it alone, am I?"

A smile adorning his face like never before, he got to his feet, and followed his fiancee to the bathroom, burning smiles on both their jubilant faces.

END CHAPTER 23

Finally! THEY HAVE DONE IT! I hope it was as romantic as some of you pictured it. I wanted it to be on a bed, with rose petals on it with soft music playing to the beautiful moment. . .but that just wouldn't be my style, wouldn't it? Lolz. Sorry if Hao did not have much show time in this chapter, that will be changed, don't you worry. Sumiko might also get some more time in the chapter. The next chapter will most likely be MUCH longer than this one too, just as this one was longer than chapter 22. It will be thick of romance, twists, loving, and basically, the forwarding of the big question. Is Hao and friend of a foe? Chapter 24 will be up as soon as possible, my friends! In the meantime, please have a Merry Christmas, please send me a review for all my hard work, and please look forward to the next chapter!


	24. What Are You Hiding From?

Whoo, here we are, at the start of chapter 24. Whether this is good or bad news to you, this and chapter 25 will be the confirmed final two chapters of this story. The good and better news, however, like I had so often hinted, is that these two will be the LONGEST chapters I have ever written. This is a historical moment everybody. Or not, but whatever. Well, I guess I'd better begin. Here's chapter 24 everyone, please enjoy it as much as I had fun writing it. Please read and review.

CHAPTER 24

Hao returned home at around three in the morning. The pale moon had disappeared into the many clouds in the sky, leaving him in darkness as he struggled to open the door. Forgetting he had the ability to create fire, he was about to ram the door down until he heard it open quietly; and there Sumiko stood, looking at him somewhat blankly. " Welcome back, Asakura." she said quietly.

" Yeah." he muttered, stepping past her. " What are you doing up so late?"

She opened her mouth to speak before shifting her gaze from his questioning face to her feet. " Nothing, Asakura." she said quietly. " I couldn't sleep, that's all."

" Hmm." Hao said, stepping past her, opening the refrigerator behind her. " Well, you should see Opacho if you're having problems with sleeping. Hell, I had a severe case of insomina once and that little tyke cured it up for me in just a case of six days. Of course, every night he would sit by my bed and stare at me until I finally fell asleep, which would not be for hours. He's a really good friend, you know. There was one time where. . ."

Sumiko was not listening, but picked up her book, pinching the lemon between her lips gingerly.

" . . .Hey, which reminds me, I want to bring you somewhere to eat tomorrow." Hao said, grinning at her. " It's a new japanese restaurant that just opened. . .not. . .long. . .ago. . ." His words trailed slowly as he slammed the fridge door shut, his eyes wide and he turned his head to face Sumiko, who was looking back at him expressionlessly. " Oh my God," he muttered, slapping himself on the head. " I forgot. . .were you waiting up for me?"

" Yes." she said placidly.

" Oh, Holy Jesus." Hao muttered, slapping himself on the head once more. " Are you angry at me?"

" No." she said.

" Oh." he said, rather unconvincingly. There was an extremely uncomfortable silence that passed between the two of them, and he scratched the back of his head. " Are you in the mood for late night supper?" he asked her, and her eyes widened.

" You have school tomorrow, Asakura." she said.

" It's today, if you want to be technical." he said jokingly, but she did not laugh. She barely cracked a smile, and the grin faded from his face. " I'm hungry." he lied, and she cocked her brow. " That shop's open 24 hours a day anyway. Care to accompany me?"

At this, a small smile filled up on her unhappy face, which caused his heart to miss a beat.

" Yes." she said.

A blush appeared on his cheeks, and he waited until it had resided before grinning back at her. " Alright, that's great." he said to her, bouncing up upon his feet gleefully. " I guess I'm just going to take a shower or something. It'll take me less than half an hour, I promise."

" Okay." she said, nodding her head quietly. Hao smiled at her once more, ready to run up the stairs when he stopped, and turned around to face her once again. " By the way," he said to her. " You said you were going to visit Ejio. How is his condition? Is he getting a speedy recovery?"

" Yes, I expect he is." Sumiko said sullenly.

**Tell him**. She said to herself.

" Well, that's good to know." Hao said.

**TELL HIM**. She yelled at herself, her heart thumping painfully against her ribs.

And for once, Hao heard her thoughts.

" Tell me what?" he asked.

" I. . ." she stuttered, her heart hammering against her ribs. For a fleeting moment it seemed like she was going to speak before she shook her head, looking away. " It's nothing." she muttered. " Nothing at all."

He blinked at her, staring straight into her eyes, almost desperately trying to find reason within the words she spoke. When he received nothing but an emotionless notion back at, he turned his back to her, and started to walk away again.

" I'm in love with you." Sumiko blurted out, and regretted doing so quite soon after.

He turned around, the third time now, but the expression on his face was quite unlike the others. It was a strong mixture of shock, puzzlement and amazement, and he simply gaped at her for a full ten seconds; her expression faltering, now being exchanged with a rather offended look, almost defiant. " What. . .did you just say?" he asked her, his eyes wide in exclamation.

" I said. . ." she whispered, forcing her legs to stop shaking, willing her lip to stop trembling, to force her eyes to look back into Hao's. " I said. . .I love you." she finished, her voice throbbing with emotion. She had shaped the last three words slowly and carefully, almost deliberately, as if it were a kiss. She took a step towards him and they were barely noses apart now. She gazed at him with her large beautiful eyes, her peach soft lips open in a vague wondering expression that enchanted Hao. Almost by instinct now, he bent down, their lips inches apart, their eyes still never breaking contact. They stayed in this difficult position for around half a minute or so before she shut her eyes, standing up on a tip-toe, pressing her lips against his, meeting his gently.

At first he just stood there, frozen; his heart, which seemed to have swollen to an unnatural size, was thumping painfully against his ribs. Soon he was brought back to his senses and kissed her back, his hands wrapping around her waist, and it was at this when he noticed just how slim she was. Her hands were on his collar at this time, pulling away from his lips to press small kisses onto his neck, and he moaned appreciatively. Suddenly Anna's face flashed before his eyes, and he blinked, pushing Sumiko away from him.

Both of them were breathing hard. Sumiko was watching him in dazed wonderment, before looking down at her feet, sighing depressingly. It was this moment when Hao noticed just how many years she had seemed to age in just the past few minutes. They stood away from each other for another few minutes until Hao spoke again, his voice throaty and tired. " I'm sorry," he whispered, but she did not look up to meet his eyes once more. " But my heart is set upon someone else."

There was silence for another couple of minutes before she spoke, her voice so calm that Hao almost felt guilty. " Is it Anna Kyoyuma?" she asked. It was not a demand. It was not a statement. It was just a question, waiting patiently to be answered. He noticed there was not a tinge of jealousy that iced her words.

" Yeah." he said simply.

She finally looked up, and once again there was nothing shown on her face. " It's alright." she said, a little too firmly. " I'm used to it. Not the first time, anyway."

Not the first time. . .?

" Who else did you fall for?" he asked her, his hand blocking the pathway for her to leave the kitchen.

She looked down at her feet.

" I don't think it is of any concern to you, is it?"

He flinched at the coldness of her tone, his hand lifting to clear her way.

" No," he said silently, after a moment. " No, I guess it's not."

She walked past him, and he chewed on his bottom lip anxiously before calling out, " Are you still following me for a late night supper?" he asked her, a forced smile on his face.

" Is it alright if I go to bed?" she asked him, her back facing him. " I do not feel hungry at the moment."

His smile sagged and he nodded, turning away.

" Yeah," he said depressingly. " It's alright. Goodnight."

" Goodnight, Asakura." she said, and he waited until the sound of her footsteps had disappeared up the stairs before sitting down on the table behind him. He slammed his fist against it, making a hole in it immediately, splinters piercing into his knuckles. He grimaced and sighed. " God, what a depressing week." he muttered, walking over to the cupboard to look for a pair of tweezers. " She has sweet lips, though." he muttered under his breath. " Almost makes you wonder how she gets it from all those damn lemons she sucks all day."

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" Why the Hell are you reading that during breakfast?"

Yoh blinked and peeled his eyes away from the book in his hands to look at Anna, who was pointing her chopsticks at his copy of ' Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde', her eyebrows raised at him in question. He snapped it shut, placing it on the table in one short, fluid motion. " Well, if it bothers you, I won't." he said calmly, picking up his chopsticks to resume eating.

" I didn't say anything about it bothering me." she said irritably, her lip curling. " I was just wondering why you chose this moment to be fascinated about that book. I read it a couple of times before, and it didn't bring much of an impact over me." It was at that moment when she looked at him with an expression of dawning, and glared at him piercingly. " Unless. . .you did not finish reading those two chapters Yoro-sensei asked us to look at before stepping into his classroom. . ."

" No, I finished it," he said quickly, because she was in the process of throwing the cooking pot at his face. " It's just that Yoro-sensei told me it would be better to get a head start on it before the class, as he told me that my grades needed improving and if I wanted to get a passing grade at the end of the year I would have to work doubly hard." Yoh personally thought it was a rather well told lie, but Anna's eyebrows were raised so high that they were in danger of disappearing in the fringe of her hair. " Alright, that's a lie." he said hastily, and she smirked at him. " He told me that Hao had left some clues for me inside it."

" Clues?" Anna said, the smile on her face diminishing. " From Hao?"

" That's what he said." Yoh said, shoveling food into his open mouth.

" So Hao's using the strength of teachers again. . ." she muttered, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.

" Again?" Yoh asked, confused. " What do you mean by that?"

" Well, he made use of Seika-sensei to make you fail that test not too long ago, forcing you to drop the subject." Anna said tightly; the pity she felt for Hao just yesterday was burning out quickly. " I asked Seika, and he told me that Hao did that so as to make sure that you would be in one less class with me."

" That's not possible." Yoh said disbelievingly.

" That's what I thought of at first." Anna said heavily. " But after what Hao told you fellas in the coffeeshop, it's not hard to believe that, is it?"

" What are we talking about this time?" came Horo Horo's voice from the front door, and Anna's face hardened considerably. He stepped past Yoh and dropped down on a chair next to Anna, grinning at her. " Hey, good morning, pretty lady. You and your fiancee alright?"

" Right until you came." she said menacingly.

" We were talking about Hao." Yoh said quietly, and Horo snorted so loud that Ren, who was coming in from the front door, jumped slightly at the noise.

" Come on, forget about him." Horo said. " We invited him to the party, but that's as far as I'm willing to- - -"

" You what?" Anna said, turning sharply to Yoh. " You WHAT?"

" He invited Hao to the party." Ren said glumly, shutting the door behind him, and the three of them turned around to face him. " I placed his name on the guest list."

Anna raised her eyebrows at the chinese shaman. " And I thought you were the smart one." she breathed.

" Listen, it was not **me** who wanted to invite the psycho maniac!" Ren said indignantly.

" And you're saying this is all me to blame?" Yoh asked.

" Yes!" Anna, Horo and Ren shouted.

Yoh seemed like he was about to rebuke, but fell silent, sinking into his chair. " Well, then, fine." he said glumly. " Just cross his name off the list then."

" That's more like it." Horo said briskly.

" Pirika already wrote his name on a separate invitation card, but I'm sure she hasn't sent it out yet." Ren said, scratching the back of his head in thought. " Remind me to tell her in school today."

Horo sighed.

" I thought Hao would have at least learnt his lesson by now."

" A leopard never changes his spots." Ren said wisely.

" But, it's not Yoh's fault." Horo said, trying to smile at him, but Yoh was looking at the floor, ignoring him completely. " It's not Yoh's fault Hao's twisted."

" Don't forget wicked."

" Evil." Horo added helpfully.

" Mean." Ren said, bobbing his head.

" Sick in the head."

And even as the insults raged on, slowly getting more and more crude, Anna glanced over at Yoh who was determinedly avoiding her gaze. There was something different about him; and she had the sudden image of a volcano about to erupt. She was about to speak when he rose from his chair violently, grabbing his chair which was just nearby. " I think I should be able to go to school by myself today." he said curtly.

Anna's eyes were wide, and she rose to her feet.

" **By myself**, Anna." Yoh said sharply, before walking out the door, slamming it behind him.

Anna was staring at the slammed shut door in absolute shock; Ren and Horo staring at her with amusingly wide mouths. This was the first time that they had ever seen him openly rude to her, and they were sure that she, above anyone else, was the most shocked by this. She turned to them, her eyebrows raised. " Did. . .Yoh just. . .?" she asked them.

" Yeah." both of them said, not even bothering to let her finish her sentence; they already knew what she was going to say.

" What on earth could he be angry about?" she asked incredulously.

But by the looks on their faces, it seemed like she would have received a more respectable answer from the book that Yoh had left behind on the table; Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

00000000000000000000000000000000

Lyserg was in the library once more, typing steadily on the computer, once in a while frowning at it as though it had wronged him before continuing. It was after a moment when he looked up from it, calling out to Jeanne who was on the same duty as him, and she turned around to face him. " You called, Lyserg?" she said to him sweetly. " Yeah," he said, his brow furrowing. " I'm doing the school's records, you see. The librarian asked me to do the records of Yoh and the gang first, seeing that I didn't have to look anything up. In other words, starting with the easier ones."

" Right." Jeanne said patiently.

" What is Anna's full name?"

" Anna Kyoyuma." she answered. " Is that all?"

" No, not quite." he said. " Is she a single child?"

Jeanne's mouth opened before shutting slowly, looking at Lyserg with somewhat of a bemused expression. " You know. . .I never really bothered to ask her. . ." she said, drawing a finger to her delicate lips. " I don't think she has any brothers and sisters, though, or else she would have told us."

" Us?" Lyserg asked.

" Yeah, we were having a slumber party, you see." Jeanne said casually. " We were playing Truth Or Dare, and nobody dared to ask Anna any personal questions if they treasured their lives. Tamao then, very boldly, asked Anna who was her closest friend, and she said it was her cousin."

" Cousin?" Lyserg said blandly. " What's his name?"

" Her, actually. But you've lost me there." Jeanne said, shrugging. " You could ask her yourself."

" No, it's okay." Lyserg said. " I just asked you to save time, but there are a large amount of files in the back cabinet. . .if I could just look under the sir name of Kyoyuma. . ."

" There will be no need for that." Jeanne said brightly, shutting her eyes tight, her hand reached out as though asking Lyserg to hold out her hand. Feeling rather stupid, he almost reached out for her fingers when a single folder zoomed out and fell into her open hand. He withdrew very quickly, his face glowing red.

" There you are." she chirped.

" Thanks." Lyserg said sheepishly. " I almost forgot you were the most powerful female shaman in the world."

" Actually, Anna rivals me in that."

" Right." Lyserg said, before looking through the dusty folder, frowning once again. " Hello, what do we have here?" he muttered. " Anna's next of kin is. . .Kino Asakura."

" Well, that certainly clears everything up." Jeanne said brightly.

" No, you don't understand." Lyserg said, scratching the back of his head in question. " That's Yoh's grandmother. There aren't any names besides that."

" Well, that can't be right." Jeanne said, her smile faltering. " I distinctly remember Anna telling me she had a cousin. Two cousins, come to think of it."

" Well, that can't be right." Lyserg said, impatient now. " I'll just fill in Kino's name."

" But I was always curious about Anna's past." Jeanne spoke, slowly, almost deliberately now. " Weren't you?"

" Not really." Lyserg said, and at the sight of Jeanne's offended look, he changed tact immediately. " Not that I don't think it'll be interesting of course," he said hastily. " But I think it would be best if we just minded our own business."

" That sounds all very well," Jeanne muttered, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. " Unless. . ."

" Unless what?" Lyserg asked, uneasily.

" Well, Shamash should be able to help us out." she said pointedly. " I was thinking of delving deep into Anna's past memory. As long as you and I keep Anna talking about her past for longer than a minute, Shamash should be able to read into her thoughts for that minute, and give us a glance at her childhood. Sort of like downloading a video, if you would."

" Er. . .right." Lyserg said. " Why are you so curious, anyway?"

" No reason, actually." Jeanne said, blushing slightly at his question. " It's just that. . .Anna is one of my closest friends, and she only told me about her and Yoh finally sleeping together when I pressed her on about it for nearly an hour. You would think that- - -"

" ANNA AND YOH WHAT?" Lyserg gasped out loud.

" Shh!" Jeanne said, looking terrified now. " I'm not even supposed to tell anyone, Anna made me and Pirika swear. . .oh God, I'm going to have to erase your memory. . ."

" I won't tell anyone." Lyserg said hurriedly, backing away from her. She gave him somewhat of a reproachful look before smiling slightly. " I guess I could just ask you to keep it a secret?" she said, and he bobbed his head, deeply relieved. " Anyway," she continued. " She never really told me anything about her, and. . .well. . .something inside me is just simply craving for more." she paused for a moment before looking up at him pitifully. " You must think I'm some nosy bitch, right?" she said.

" Never!" Lyserg said loudly.

" Shh!" Jeanne said, pressing her finger against his lips as people in the library looked up from their books once again.

" So. . ." Jeanne said, chewing on her bottom lip. " Do you think you'll be able to help me out?" she said, and her little spirit bobbed up beside her, nodding to her. She beamed at it and looked at Lyserg hopefully. He raised his eyebrows at her before nodding his head in a resigned sort of way.

" If it means that much to you." he muttered.

She planted a kiss on his cheek before holding his hand within hers. "Thank you." she said. " We'll corner her later."

The feeling of her lips still on his cheek, the look on her face and the warmness of her fingers stunned him for a moment. It was a long silence before he muttered, " Oh."

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Anna sighed, entering the library shortly, her hands in her pockets. Ignoring the boys who looked up from their books at her, she strode straight for the counter, where Jeanne and Lyserg sat, grinning at her. She made her way to the desk, dropping several books on the counter, sighing. " Hello," she muttered. " I borrowed these two weeks ago, is it alright if I return them before the date's due?"

" Of course." Lyserg said nonchalantly.

" Alright," Anna said, turning her heel to walk away.

" Hey, Anna, wait." came Jeanne's voice from behind her, and she shifted her body slightly to face her. " I'm supposed to do these forms for the school. Do you think you could help me out with them?"

Anna raised her eyebrows.

" Isn't that your job?" she said.

" That's why she asked for your help." Lyserg said silently, typing steadily on the computer. " I would help her, but I'm too busy on the task already at hand."

Anna looked at the two of them for a moment before sighing heavily. " Fine." she muttered. " Wait right here, I'll go downstairs and get Yoh here or something. . ."

" You told me he was angry with you." Jeanne said pointedly.

Anna stopped in mid-step. " Oh, right." she muttered. " I totally forgot about that. Well, never mind that. I'll just call Horo Horo up here as soon as I can."

" No, actually, it's you I need." Jeanne said persistently.

" Why me?" Anna asked sharply, suspicious now.

" Don't worry, it's nothing big." Lyserg said, nervously now. Jeanne was right, Anna was an incredibly bright girl for her age. " It's just basic personality forms that would look good in your GPA. I need you to help me fill up yours and Yoh's, if you don't mind."

" Can't you just check it up?" Anna asked, suspiciously still.

" Yeah, but since you're here, she wanted you to just fill it up to make it less troublesome."

" For you or for me?" Anna said sarcastically. " Give it to me then. And hurry up with it."

" No, you just tell it to me, and I'll write it down. I'll understand my own handwriting."

" And you wouldn't understand mine?" Anna said menacingly.

Jeanne looked at Lyserg nervously, and he shrugged.

" Whatever." Anna said, sitting down on a chair opposite Jeanne. " Fire away."

Lyserg switched on his stopwatch. One minute starting. . .now.

" Who's your next of kin, Anna?" Jeanne asked, scribbling on the parchment.

" Kino Asakura." Anna said in a bored tone.

" And do you have any other close relatives besides her?" Jeanne pressed on.

" Nope." Anna said simply.

Barely five seconds had passed. Looks like Anna was harder to crack than they expected. Jeanne looked edgily at Lyserg, who immediately sprang into action. " But I heard Yoh tell me you had a cousin." he said, looking at her curiously. She blinked, raising her eyebrows at him. " But I never told him about my cousins, or anything much, to think about it." she said. " What exactly did he tell you?"

" Nothing much," Lyserg said hurriedly. If he made the slightest of mistakes, she would find them out immediately. " He just mentioned that you had a cousin."

" No, I don't."

Jeanne chewed on her bottom lip. " But you mentioned having two close cousins during the sleep over, remember?" she said, almost accusingly. " Tamao asked you a question during Truth or Dare, and you said that. . ."

" I was just lying when I said so." Anna said simply. Something was going on and she did not like it. The only way she could get out was to obvious lie her head off. " Tamao asked me a stupid question, and naturally I gave her a stupid answer. You didn't expect me to answer that seriously, did you?"

Jeanne blinked. Come to think of it, it really was kind of stupid.

" So you lied during the choice of Truth?" Jeanne said shrewdly.

Anna blinked, taking a moment to understand the question. " Oh," she said. " Yeah. Who actually takes the game seriously, anyway?"

" I did, actually." Jeanne said stiffly. " I didn't think you would lie openly to us anyway."

Anna raised her eyebrows. " Are you getting angry at me for that? Come on, Jeanne, I thought you were more mature than that. You know I never takes these games seriously. When we were playing Hide and Seek I was watching television in the neighbour's living room."

" So that's why we couldn't find you!" Jeanne said, sounding outraged.

Lyserg resisted rolling his eyes and glanced at the watch. Forty seconds had passed. If only Jeanne could keep Anna talking. . . " How many cousins do you have, actually?" Jeanne persisted.

Anna blinked, and she seemed to be thinking about something for a moment before shrugging. " Two." she said, and it was at that moment when a minute had passed, and Lyserg's stopwatch let off noisily. She turned to raise her eyebrows at him, their eyes meeting, and it was that moment when she knew. Actually, they did not know if she knew or not. But somehow, she seemed to know. She got up to her feet, smirking at the both of them. " Well, now that one minute has been used up and you asked me that important question, I see no need to answer the rest, right?"

She knew.

Somehow, she always knew.

" Yeah." Jeanne said.

Grinning, Anne made motion to move until Jeanne called out to her and she stopped. She turned and Jeanne was watching her with a tearful expression. " Are you angry at me?" she asked.

" Not at all." Anna said, smiling. " I'm just amused by how far you would go to know about my past. Nice try, by the way. But you were, I'm very sorry to say this, very obvious."

With that, she walked off. The two of them looked at each other; Shamash bobbing up beside Jeanne. " Well," Jeanne said in a voice falsely cheery. " Let's see what the memory is."

A bubble of vision appeared before Shamash like a television set, and they looked into it. There was nothing there, but a swirling vortex of black. " She destroyed her memory!" Lyserg gasped. Jeanne sighed. " Anna's just too smart for her own good." she muttered, and Lyserg was forced to nod his head feverishly beside her.

" You never change, do you, Jeanne?" came a casual voice from behind them; a voice Lyserg recognized and hated. He stepped before Jeanne, Morphine appearing by his side, his eyes appearing in little slits. There Hao stood, smiling at the two of them. " You were always the girl who wanted to know as many things about her friends as possible. Not that that's a bad thing, actually." he added as Jeanne's face showed hurt.

" Don't take a step closer to her." Lyserg snarled.

" Oh, come off it, Lyserg, she can defend herself better than you can." Hao said calmly. " I'm not here for a fight; all I want is to talk to her."

" Oh yeah?" Lyserg said, glaring at him. " Like what you wanted to do to Yoh?"

" Not exactly." Hao said. " I accidentally overheard your little conversation with Anna."

" Accidentally?" Lyserg said scathingly. " **Accidentally**?"

" And I think I might be able to help you." Hao said to Jeanne, ignoring Lyserg completely. Her eyes were wide with question. " ' How', you ask." he said. " Well, a person may modify her memory, but she cannot destroy it. Please examine closely. . ." he went on, a finger lighting up in a small flame. Jeanne just looked at him blankly as he took a step closer to the black screen that was before Shamash.

" Jeanne, stop him!" Lyserg said urgently. " He's not someone to be trusted."

Ignoring him once more, Hao dipped his finger into the memory, swirling it gently, the colour changing from black to a milky white; looking very much like bubbling milk. Jeanne and Lyserg glanced at each other for a moment before turning to Hao once more. " I don't think Anna knew I could do this." he said cheerfully. " You're very lucky she decided to allow you to keep the memory. If she chose to take it from Shamash, I wouldn't be of much help. . .oh, here we are!"

They peered past his shoulder, and a room came slowly into view. The strange thing was that the furniture was all on the ceiling, and Lyserg and Hao raised their eyebrows at Jeanne, who said hurriedly, " You must enter the memory before it comes into focus." she explained.

" Well then, can I come along?" Hao said brightly.

" Are you kidding?" Lyserg said, his eyes bulging.

" No, it's alright." Jeanne said, giving Hao somewhat of an appraising look and Lyserg spun his head around to face her so quickly that there was a distinctly snapping sound. " We would never have been able to see the image if it weren't for Hao anyway," she said to him. " Anyway, Anna mistrusts Hao so much at the moment that she wouldn't believe anything he says anymore anyway."

" Ooh, that hurt." Hao winced.

Lyserg was looking from Jeanne to Hao so many times that his eyes were just a blur. After a while he sighed depressingly. " Alright, then." he said miserably. " You can come along."

" Excellent." Hao said cheerfully. " Time stops when you're in the memory, am I quite right, Jeanne?"

She nodded her head.

" Well, shall we enter?" Hao said.

Jeanne smiled.

" Okay." she said. " Lyserg?"

Lyserg said nothing but nodded.

" Excellent." Hao said once more.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

_Inside the room there were two people; one was an elderly woman who was scribbling anxiously on a piece of paper, her face screwed with concentration. Beside her was a young girl of seemingly nine, and it was not hard to tell that she was Anna Kyoyuma. Though she was nine there was still something distinctly elegant about her, and she seemed to carry herself with the air of a queen. _

" _Right." the elderly woman muttered. " Now that that's done and out of my way. . ." She put her pen down and turned around to look down at Anna. There was a frown on her face, and her mouth opened to speak when there was a rapping on the door. She jumped a mile before wiping the sweat off her brow. She seemed much more childish than the mundanely calm Anna. " Come in." she said, trying to offer Anna a smile, in which she did not return._

_The door opened, and there stood Kino and two young children, both looking haughty and bored._

" Sumiko?" Hao gasped, his hand to his mouth. The other two raised their eyebrows but otherwise ignored him, still staring intently at the image before them.

" _This young lady is Sumiko, and this little boy is Ejio." Kino said lazily, and the other woman nodded her head; with every bob sweat droplets fell to the ground like rain. " You haven't changed one bit, Saya." Kino muttered before gesturing for the two kids to sit down next to Anna. They dropped to their feet, staring at Anna emotionlessly who was gazing back at them with equal unenthusiasm. _

" _Well, isn't this swell." Saya said, clapping her sweaty palms together. " I hope the three of you know exactly why you are here?"_

_None of them answered; Anna scratched her head boredly, Sumiko sucked on a lemon quietly, and Ejio was busy plucking strings out of the tatami, slowly piling it up before him. " Right." Saya said, her eyebrows raised. " Well, if neither of you are clear, then I guess I shall tell you. Kino has chosen the two of you to be the guardians of young Anna. You were chosen because you were not only seen as the most capable mediums, but were also coincidently her cousins."_

_Ejio let out a little cough, dropping a string onto the pile before him._

_Saya gave a glance at Kino, clearly asking her to take over._

" _Well, I guess that's all we have to say to you three." Kino said, clapping her hands together, earning a jump from Saya. " We're going for a drink outside. Please let us know if you need us for anything."_

" _Are you seriously going to leave these three 10-year olds alone together?" Saya said, her eyes bulging as she drew Kino to a side. Kino merely chuckled. " My dear Saya. . .those two kids are mediums. Both of them are currently 500-years old. 510 to be exact."_

" WHAT?" Hao gasped. The other two jumped at the sudden noise, but ignored it anyway. But Hao was staring down at the miniature Sumiko with unflattering shock. It was then when it suddenly seemed to make perfect sense. When Kino mentioned to him that they were the same age as him, she meant 500, and not 19. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully as the puzzle seemed to piece itself together before him. Before Ejio fell into a coma, he yelled at Ren saying that he was more than twice his age. Hao should have been sharp enough to pick up from that.

" _Who exactly are you?" Anna asked the two of them pointedly._

_Sumiko said nothing, so Ejio spoke. " We're mediums." he said to her, stacking up the third layer of his stack of straw. " We have no real names; but you can call us Ejio and Sumiko for reference sake. I can control matter; ice for example, fire for another. My sister can control. . ."_

" _Anything." Sumiko said simply, looking up to meet the eyes of Anna. Anna did not flinch, but gazed back almost equally haughtily. " Weather, earth. . .you name it."_

" _Must be very useful." Anna said quietly._

" _Not as useful as you would think." Sumiko said darkly. Anna raised her eyebrows at her but said nothing, rising to her feet. Ejio stopped in the movement of stacking up the fourth layer, looking up at her. " Where are you planning on going, Anna?" he asked her._

" _I'm bored." Anna replied, walking out the room, Sumiko following her. Ejio made motion to follow, but Sumiko shook her head at him before following Anna. _

Hao, Jeanne and Lyserg hurried behind them.

" _Where are you planning on going?" Sumiko asked, repeating her brother's question._

" _I'm going for a walk." Anna said quietly. _

" _Where to?" Sumiko asked her._

Suddenly, a blinding pain of remembrance overcame Hao, and his heart hammered painfully against his chest, his eyes bulging. He turned his attention back to the scene before him, but by then the image before him was dimming and fading, like a television with bad connection.

" Damn, that's all we could get in a minute." Jeanne muttered. " Time to head back."

It was as they swirled back to the library when it all came into sense to Hao.

" _You can read minds, can't you?" Sumiko had yelled at him in the hospital ward._

She knew.

How and why, he was still not sure about that yet.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Yoh was lying down on the roof of the school, looking up at the skies dimly. He had forgotten the reason why he was so angry at Ren, Horo Horo and Anna already, but somehow he just did not want to meet them. Childish as it sounded, Yoh just wanted to stay mad at them for a full day until they apologized. Well, that ought to give him a lot of time alone, he thought dully, as Anna and Ren were never people who liked to admit they were wrong. Anna, over anyone else, liked to believe that everything she said was right, and nothing that came out of her mouth was false or was a lie. He crossed his arms across his chest. Well, he was going to have to ignore the three of them for as long as he wanted, then. He did not want to look at them, he did not want to hear the sounds of their voices. . .

" Yoh?"

He jumped and sat upright, turning around to see who had called his name. There stood Anna, looking down at him reproachfully. She looked utterly beautiful; she had makeup on her face, and he suspected he had just been to the bathroom to spruce herself up. " Oh, it's you." he said dully, lying down against the roof once more, willing his heart to beat normally, and coaxing his erection to subsede. She chewed on her bottom lip; she could not think of one reason for Yoh to be mad at her, yet somehow she felt strangely guilty. Did he always feel this way when she was angry?

" I brought you your book." she said quietly, setting the copy of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde onto the roof tiles below her. " Thanks." he said, not looking at her. She looked at him with a confused expression on her face, but he continued to ignore her. " What are you so angry about, Yoh?" she asked him. " Did I do anything to offend you?"

Oh. Now he remembered.

Anger returned to him, an he glared at the skies as though they had offended him too.

" Well, if you can't remember, then I won't have to tell you."

She flinched, stepping back like he had just slapped her, her eyes wide with shock. She watched him continue to lie there before sitting down beside him. He did nothing, and for a moment there she almost thought he had fallen asleep. " Is this because I don't trust Hao?"

" No." he lied. " What is it to me if you don't trust him, anyway?"

" Yoh. . ." she said, chewing on her bottom lip uncomfortably. " You know why I don't trust him. He betrayed you twice already, once trying to kill you and all of us. I can't think of a reason why you wanted to invite him to the party anyway."

Yoh said nothing, but Anna noticed he had balled his hands into tight fists.

There was a moment of silence that passed before she sighed, getting to her feet. " Goodbye, Yoh." she said, turning around to walk away.

" So what you're saying is, I was wrong to trust my own brother, is that it?" Yoh said, his temper rising.

She stopped in mid-step, eyes wide.

" I didn't mean that. . ." she said hastily.

" Then what **did **you mean?" he fired up angrily.

" You trust people too much, that's what I'm saying!" Anna said.

" Even if he's my brother, is that right?"

" Yes!" she said, a spark of irritation igniting within her. " Yes, that's exactly it!"

He turned around now, and she was shocked to see that his eyes were filled with tears. " I never thought you would think of that too, Anna." he said angrily. " Maybe from Ren, but never from you. It was you who said you were feeling pity for him for once."

" That's a different- - -"

" It's not his fault he was in love with you, right?" he said, his voice rising now. He remembered why he was so angry at the three of them. Somehow, them insulting Hao had brought out the man within him. " Fine, you can argue that it's not right to steal one's fiancee from another. But did he? There were countless times where he could have murdered any one of us, or even forced himself upon you. Why did he not do that?"

" He must have- - -"

" HE'S MY BROTHER, DAMN IT!" he roared, and she stepped back, looking terrified for once. " WHY ARE ALL OF YOU AGAINST MY OWN FLESH AND BLOOD? HE'S NOT A BAD PERSON!"

" Yoh, I- - -"

" DIDN'T YOU NOTICE HE WAS JUST SMILING HIS WAY THROUGH HIS TEARS ALL THESE YEARS? HE'S A LONELY MAN, ANNA! A MAN WHO HAD A HOLE IN HIS HEART SINCE HE WAS YOUNG, AND NOW THAT HE FINALLY FINDS SOMEONE WHO CAN COME TO THAT SPECIAL PLACE INSIDE HIS HEART, HIS BROTHER IS THE ONE WHO STEALS HER AWAY FROM HIM!"

" But that- - -"

" HE HAS BEEN HIDING HIS LOVE FOR YOU INSIDE HIM FOR MORE THAN SEVEN YEARS! ISN'T THAT A SIGN OF LOYALTY TO ME?"

" You could- - -"

" HE'S A GOOD BROTHER, AS HE IS A GOOD PERSON! WHY DO YOU HATE HIM SO MUCH?"

" I never said I hated him. . ." Anna said, her eyes watering.

" THEN WHY DON'T YOU. . .?"

" I don't want him to come between you and me, alright?" she yelled, tears falling from her face.

He opened his mouth to shout, but shut it slowly. He was staring at Anna, who had wiped her tears away from her face hastily. " First of all, it was not I who was insulting him, it was Ren and Horo Horo." she said angrily. " So before you yell at someone, get that right first."

" Oh." he muttered, his face reddening.

" Secondly, the only reason I did not attack Hao was because you insisted he was a good person. Thus, it was I who persuaded the others to trust him. You don't think they just trusted him straight away, did you?"

" No, I didn't." he mumbled, feeling stupider and guiltier by the second.

" And thirdly," she said hotly, the tears falling from her face, unstopping. " I was always cold towards Hao because I was afraid with the fact he looked so similar to the man I loved that I would grow liking to him, and he would use that to his benefit."

Yoh's mouth opened to speak, before shutting.

" I. . .I don't know what to say." he said slowly.

" Then don't." she said coldly, making motion to leave. He chewed on his bottom lip, stepping forward, grabbing her by the shoulders, whipping her around to bring her into a hug. She gasped, her eyes widening. " I'm sorry." he whispered. " It's just that. . .everyone's just giving Hao these snide remarks and. . .I know that he's. . .not a bad person." he held her tighter towards him. " Please forgive me." he whispered, pressing his lips on her forehead. " I love you. I love you so much."

Her widened eyes shut, and she leaned her head against his shoulder.

" Yes," she whispered. " I know."

They stayed locked in that embrace, and he smiled into her hair. " God, you're incredible." he muttered.

" Thanks." she murmured, unable to hide the smile creeping on her face.

" You smell incredible too." he whispered, nibbling on her ear.

" Yeah, I thought if you were really angry at me, I could seduce you into forgiving me."

" Pity you didn't try that." he whispered, his hand grazing her thigh.

" Well, didn't you become bold after our first night?" she whispered.

" Don't you like it?" he said throatily, kissing her neck hungrily.

" Well, it was a big improvement from the wimpy Yoh weeks ago." she said. " Think you can prove how much you've changed?"

" Oh, I think that's highly possible." he whispered, his fingers delving into her skirt.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

" I guess the two of you made up?" Pirika asked the two of them, her eyebrows raised, as she sat down on Ren's lap. " Yeah" Anna said, flushing, as she and Yoh entered the classroom together. " How did you find out?"

" Oh, after a while, you sort of catch on to these things." Ren said, smirking. " And by the look of glee on Yoh's face, and the flustered look on Anna's, you guys made out on the way too?"

Both of them blushed.

" Alright everyone, get back into your seats." the teacher called out, entering the classroom, and there was a groan of disappointment that rang out from the students as the noise level subsided. Yoh gave a small grin to Anna, who reluctantly returned it before getting back to her seat. She made her way to the back of the class, and he promptly took the seat next to her. " Yoh," she said, after a moment of silence. He turned around to look at her hopefully. " I really hope you would take care to listen in this class." she said pointedly, and the smile faded from his face. " You already have three failing subjects, and you need at least five passes to get into an A class next year."

" Oh." he said, disappointed. " Was that it?"

" Yes." she said. " That was it. Now pay attention in class. If I catch you dozing off, I'm going to slap you in front of the entire class. If you think for one second that I won't dare. . ."

" I believe you, I believe you. . ." he said, shivering from her glare. It was at this moment when he regretted not sitting down next to Horo Horo, who was in the middle of the class. He slunk into his seat, sighing. He thought that after the incident on the roof she would at least soften up to him, but somehow she seemed even more ferocious than ever. Were all girls like this after sex? He made a reminder to ask Ren later on.

" Yoh. . ." Anna said, breaking the pen in her hand threateningly.

" I'm listening!" he said, terrified. " I'm listening!"

She glared at him for a moment before lifting her hand in his direction.

He raised his eyebrows.

" Er. . ." he said. " Are you short of cash?"

" I want a pen, dumbass." she snarled. " Or do you want me to break your neck instead?"

He fumbled with his pencil case and held out a pen. She snatched it from him. " Thanks." she said. " Now pay attention. I want you to get a distinction in this class, got it?"

" Yes, Anna." he muttered.

" . . .Well, we're on plant life, today, so I really hope all of you studied hard." the teacher said, before raising his eyebrows at the students inside the class; finally settling on Yoh. " Asakura!" he called out, and Yoh jumped. Anna rolled her eyes. " Yes, sir?" Yoh asked nervously. " This one should be pretty simple to answer." the teacher said. " What is a diatom?"

Yoh glanced at Anna, who was twirling the pen between her fingers.

" Anna!" he hissed out urgently.

" Figure this one out yourself." she muttered, not looking at him.

" Asakura!" the teacher called out, a little louder this time. " What is a diatom?"

" Er. . .when you call somebody, there is a moment of time before they answer, and as that happens, there is a ringing song that is in your ears, and. . ."

" Diatom, not dial tone!" the teacher interrupted, amid laughter from the fellow students. Anna slapped her hand against her forehead miserably. " Oh." Yoh said dimly.

" God, that Asakura guy sure is an idiot." one girl whispered to her giggling friend.

Anna's ears pricked, glaring at the back of the female.

" Asakura, I want to see you after class, do you hear me?" the teacher said sternly.

" Yes sir." Yoh said gloomily.

" Kyoyuma, would you care to answer?"

" Diatoms are tiny one-celled organisms that live in water." Anna said effortlessly. " They contain chlorophyll, which- - -" she paused at the look on Yoh's face, their eyes meeting for a moment before he looked away.

" Yes?" the teacher said, egging her on. " Go on."

" . . .I'm not sure about the rest." she said.

Yoh's eyes widened as he looked at her.

" What?" the teacher asked Anna. " This is simple concept, Anna. Are you sure that. . .?"

" I guess I forgot." she said firmly.

She looked away from the unflattering shock on the teacher's face and glared at the girl and her giggling friend, almost daring them to make a comment about her. They noticed her stare and turned back to the teacher. " Very well then." the teacher said, disappointment in his voice as he looked at Anna. " Very well. Well, diatoms contain chlorophyll, which they use to contain sunlight into energy, through the process of photosynthesis. A diatomn secretes a hard substance that forms a surrounding shell, protecting its single, soft cell. The shell consists of. . ."

" Thanks." Yoh whispered into her ear.

" About what?" she asked, her face impassive.

Silence.

He smiled.

" Nothing." he muttered.

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Seika-sensei entered the teacher's lounge briskly, shutting the door behind him. Before him there stood Yoro with a very pretty young lady with strawberry blonde hair. He raised his eyebrows, hesitating for a moment. It was a while later before Yoro finally noticed him, and grinned at him, beckoning him to step forward. " This is my fellow associate, Seika." he said to the young lady, waving in his direction. The girl raised her eyebrows at him.

" I still can't believe you decided to become a teacher, Yoro." she said witheringly.

" Well, I decided to follow in your footsteps." he said, grinning.

She raised her eyebrows and said nothing, turning her heel to walk away. " I'll see you sometime soon, I guess." she said, walking out the door.

" Yeah." Yoro said brightly. " Goodbye."

Seika waited until she had left before muttering, " Beautiful girl."

" Very." Yoro said. " But unfortunately, she's taken. Did you want to talk to me about something?"

" Yes," Seika said importantly. " Yes, as a matter of fact, I did."

Yoro blinked.

Silence.

" And. . .?"

" Take a seat." Seika said. Yoro obliged, and Seika sat down opposite to him. " I want to talk to you about the student Hao Asakura." he said, and there was a flicker of interest that sparked across Yoro's face. " Yes, I've heard of him." Yoro said, his face impassive. " I believe there's more to the two of you than that." Seika said suspiciously.

" I don't fool around with my students." Yoro said lightly.

" I didn't mean that way!" Seika snapped. " You made a transaction with him, didn't you?"

" Yes, as a matter of fact, I did."

Seika sighed, rubbing his sore temples. " The same thing happened to me too, Yoro." Seika said, looking up at the emotionless colleague. " Somehow, both of our cases happened around that Yoh Asakura boy. I found out that you chose the book Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde just so he could prove a point to his brother?" When he received no answer, he went on. " The same thing went for me. He made me fail Yoh in my class when he actually passed for the first time in three semesters. If you ask me, I think he's up to something. I think he's deliberately trying to make his brother flunk his year."

" Oh, I don't think that's so." Yoro said, chuckling, getting to his feet.

Seika glared at his back.

" Yoro, if you're planning to make an alliance with this boy. . ."

" I'm not planning to do anything." Yoro said, turning around, a smirk on his face. " But my advice for you is to just stay out of it. It has nothing to do with the two of us, and I think it would be best for us to just mind our own businesses."

" You know what's going on, don't you?" Seika said, getting to his feet, the realization suddenly hitting him.

Yoro blinked. There was something in his eyes that Seika barely caught before it had disappeared; being instantly replaced by a cheerful grin. " No," he said simply. " No I don't. But you don't see me trying to understand what I can't grasp, right? Have a coffee and a long rest, Seika." he said, walking off. " You're going to need it."

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" I expected more from you, Asakura."

" Yes sir."

" You have the ability to get higher."

" Yes sir."

" I want you to concentrate on your studies more, do you hear me?"

" Yes sir."

The teacher looked at Yoh suspiciously before glancing at Anna, who was leaning against the door of the empty classroom they were, her eyebrows raised at the both of them. He seemed to make a decision of his actions, looking away from Yoh to step past him, and Anna stepped away to let him get out the door. " I sincerely hope you can ask some of your friends to help you out with your homework. There's Ren, for one. Lyserg should be a pretty good choice too."

" What about Horo Horo?" Yoh said.

The teacher chose not to answer that, his hand on the door handle, pulling the door open. " Oh, and of course, Anna here." he said before leaving the room, a small smile on his face.

Yoh let out the breath that he was holding, and looked down at Anna, who was looking at him reproachfully. He sighed and scratched the back of his head. " You're angry at me, aren't you?"

" Not as much as I am disappointed." she replied.

He sighed.

" Yoh. . .I know that you're a clever person," she said, her hand resting on his shoulder comfortingly. " It's just that you don't pay attention in class enough. Why can't you pay attention in class?"

He glanced up to look at her before looking back down at his feet.

" You'll laugh." he mumbled.

She raised her eyebrows. " When's the last time you remember me laughing?" she said, and when he did not answer, she said, " I laugh with you. I don't laugh at you."

He finally looked up at her.

" It's because of you." he said, and her eyes widened. " When you're near me, I sneak glances at you, my mind is filled with you. . .I just can't help it."

" That's not a reason for you to. . ." she interrupted, her face furious although her cheeks were burning. Then she stopped, her eyes wide. Something crossed her mind, and she just stared at Yoh in sudden realization. His raised his eyebrows at her. " What?" he asked, sounding hurt. " I really do."

" No, it's not that. . ." she said hastily, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.

" Then what?" Yoh asked, cocking his head.

" Nothing." she muttered, turning away from him.

" Anna. . ." Yoh called out from behind her, and she stopped.

" Yes?"

He took two quick strides to her and pulled her into an embrace, kissing her cheeks softly. Her eyes widened and said nothing. It was at the moment when she was about to pull away when she felt his hand graze her breast, and she moaned silently. Taking this as a sign of acceptance, he quickly removed the tie from her shirt, letting it float gently to the floor before unbuttoning her shirt quickly.

" Again?" she said incredulously, as Yoh shrugged the shirt off her shoulders impatiently, his teeth nibbling on her shoulder feverishly. " We just had sex thirty minutes ago!"

" Sorry," he muttered, a small grin on his face. " Not my fault you're so arousing, right?"

" Ass. . .hole." she muttered, turning the last word into a whimper as his tongue swooped down to her breast, licking it feverishly. Then her eyes widened as she heard the sound of students rushing past the classroom. " Yoh!" she said urgently, but he ignored her, his hand struggling to unclip her skirt now. " Not here. . . there are. . ." she started, but was silenced by his lips pressing against hers.

She let out gasps into his mouth, and he moaned in success into her mouth as he succeeded in unclipping her skirt finally, and let it fall in a pool at her feet. " God. . ." she whimpered. " Yoh. . ."

" Damn, I love it when you say my name," he muttered, his fingers delving into the silk panties she wore, a finger inserting into her immediately, earning a raspy moan from her. " Say it again, will you?"

" Over my dead body." she said tightly.

" Suit yourself," he smirked, removing her panties as quick as day, removed himself of his pants and slid himself into her. She let out encouraging moans, grabbing onto his tightly, and he smiled into her ear. " Say my name."

" What. . .happened. . .to. . .pitiful. . .Yoh?" she moaned, biting down hard on his earlobe.

He winced, but smiled. " You don't think my thoughts about you revolve around you studying, do you?"

" Fuck. . .you. . ." she gasped.

" Hard or slow?" he said charmingly, thrusting into her quicker and quicker, and she let out a gasp of pleasure. He quickly removed her bra and let it fall to the floor. " Oh shit, Anna. . ." he muttered, his member hardening beyond imagination, gripping onto her tightly.

" Y. . .Y. . ." she breathed raspily.

" Yes?" he muttered, kissing her neck.

It was a minute later when she came, covering her mouth with her hand to prevent herself from screaming out loud, and within seconds later at the sight of her face in pleasure he came before her, drawing himself out of her in time before lying down on the ground beside her, sweat ridden on both their faces. They sat there panting for a few minutes before she turned over to smirk at him. " I still didn't say your name." she said smugly.

He raised his eyebrows at her before sulking.

" Damn." he muttered.

" But you're always welcome to try your luck some other time." she said to him slyly.

He grinned.

" I will." he said, cuddling her towards him. " I definitely will."

She said nothing, a smile creeping up on her face.

It was a moment later when Yoh seized the comfortable opportunity to pop in the question as casual as humanly possible. " So Anna. . ." he said to her soothingly, as they got back into their clothes. She turned in his direction, waiting for him to continue. " . . .Do you think it would be alright if I. . ."

" Invite Hao to the party?" she said, raising her eyebrows.

" Yeah." he said sheepishly.

She gave him somewhat of an appraising look before shrugging. " Whatever you wish." she said, pulling her clothes back onto her body, glancing at his beaming face before chuckling. " It's your party, isn't it?"

He grinned and stuffed his hands into his pockets.

" Alright." he said. " I'll tell him to come over first thing after school."

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' _Come right over for dinner with me and Anna. I need to tell you something.'_

Hao blinked as he stared at the note that Sumiko had blandly handed him. " Your brother Yoh asked me to hand this to you, Asakura." she said to him sullenly. " He called at around three in the afternoon; not too long before you returned." He said nothing but look from the note to her before lighting the note up in flames, it immediately burning into a crisp of ashes. " Thank you." he said numbly.

" No problem." she replied.

They stood there in uncomfortable silence.

" Look, Sumiko. . ." he started.

" I suggest you go." she said cuttingly. " He's waiting for you."

He opened his mouth to speak, but after a moment he shut it, turning his back onto her once again. " Alright." he said quietly. " I guess I will."

" Goodbye, Asakura." she said, walking away.

He stood there in a silent beyonding for a moment before turning around once again. " Sumi. . ." he started, until he noticed she had disappeared from sight. " . . .Ko." he finished, hanging his head.

On the other side of the door, Sumiko clenched down on her lip painfully hard. " Don't cry again," she whispered to herself, clutching her heart painfully, as she heard Hao leave the household, shutting the door firmly behind him. " Don't show weakness once more. . ."

" Sumiko-san?"

She turned around, and there stood Opacho, looking up at her curiously. " Is everything all right?" he asked her worriedly at the sight of her face. " Are you going to cry? Are you okay? What's wrong?"

" Everything's fine, Opacho." she said stiffly. " I'm okay."

Opacho watched her for a while before nodding and toddling off. " If you need me I'll be upstairs with all of Hao's other friends, alright?" he called out to her from the stairs. She nodded her head and said nothing. How long she stood there she did not know, but suddenly she opened her eyes, staring fixedly at the door.

" Kino." she said sullenly.

The door opened and there stood the familiar old woman, a walking stick in her hand, a small smirk on her face. " You're getting better at the sixth sense, Sumiko." she chuckled. " I didn't even have to tell you to practice. Even Hao took longer than you to master this art."

" What are you here for?" Sumiko asked.

Kino raised her eyebrows at the obvious iciness of the girl.

" I've walked for quite some time to get here." she said quietly. " Can you get me something to drink? I want to speak to you in private for a moment."

Sumiko looked at her suspiciously for half a minute before lifting two glasses onto the table, the tea kettle in her hands. " Thanks," Kino said gruffly. " I really appreciate it." Sumiko said nothing, finished pouring the drinks into the cups and sat down on the seat opposite next to her. Kino took a sip of tea for a moment before setting it down. " I came to ask about you and Hao Asakura."

" Oh." Sumiko said dully. " Well, you have nothing to worry about anymore. He. . ."

" Shot you down." Kino finished. " I know."

Sumiko looked at her shrewdly. " I didn't know you had Seer powers."

" There's no need for those powers at this point of time." Kino said, her lips twitching. " You're so easy to predict."

At this, Kino half expected Sumiko to start shouting at her again, but she said nothing, taking a sip out of her own cup of tea. " Are you still angry at me for using you?" Kino asked her.

" Not at all." Sumiko replied. " There's no use in getting upset. It just drains your energy, and it does nothing more than giving the person who hurt you vindictive pride for depressing you."

Kino raised her eyebrows.

" You're back to your old self again." Kino said.

" Is that good or bad?"

" At this point, I don't know what to say anymore." Kino said quietly now. " But somehow, when I look at you now, I feel somewhat depressed."

" And why's that?" Sumiko asked.

Kino stretched her legs and gave an involuntarily shiver. " How to I describe it. . ." she muttered, rubbing her chin quietly. " It bring me back to the days when you were still crossing the world with Ejio. . .that was right before you started guarding Anna for me. You were cold. . .impassive. . .but you were more like a placid lake that bore a silent monster within, waiting to snap its jaws at anyone who dared to swim through."

" Yeah, it was a crocodile." Sumiko said impassively. " It was made into a movie, wasn't it?"

" Yeah, ' Lake Placid'." Kino said, smirking now. " Can't believe you spotted me plagiarizing."

Sumiko smiled back. Kino smiled back for a moment before sighing.

" Ejio woke up from his deep sleep yesterday." Kino said quietly, and Sumiko's eyes widened. " He should be able to be admitted from the hospital tomorrow."

" That's. . .great." Sumiko said uncertainly.

" Isn't it?" Kino said loungily. She stayed silent for a moment before looking deep in Sumiko's eyes in question. " Do you still love Hao Asakura?" she asked her.

Sumiko blinked.

Did she. . .?

Kino waited.

Sumiko seemed to sag in her seat for a moment before sighing.

" Yes, I do." she said. " But there's not any use in saying that anymore, isn't there?"

" Yeah, there's not." Kino said. " But now that Yoh and Anna are together already, your job is done. There's no need for you to stay in this household anymore, and you can leave first thing tomorrow."

Sumiko's face remained impassive before nodding.

" All right." she said. " I will."

Kino nodded gravely before getting to her feet. " Thank you so much for the tea, Sumiko." she said. " It was delicious."

" Don't mention it." Sumiko said silently.

Kino reached the door. " Here's a suggestion." she said, turning around, her eyes meeting Sumiko's once again. " Try confessing to him once more." she said. " If he shoots you down, then I guess. . ."

" I can handle things like this very well myself, thank you." Sumiko said, her voice rising.

" Alright." Kino said opening the door. " Turns out you haven't changed as much as I expected." she finished quietly, slamming the door behind her.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Dinner was normal.

Fish.

Rice.

Eel.

Polite conversation.

The calm before the storm.

" Thanks for inviting me to dinner, Yoh." Hao said quietly, picking up a piece of eel with his chopsticks and laid it into his bowl carefully. Yoh smiled at him and stuffed rice into his mouth. " Hey, there's no problem in that. I don't see anyone else complaining, right?" At this, both of them involuntarily glanced at Anna from the top of their rice bowls. Anna, on the other hand, said nothing, but took a sip of water from her class, ignoring the now blatant stares from Hao and Yoh. Hao let out a small sigh before looking back at Yoh. " You invited me here for a purpose." Hao said, pausing between mouthfuls of food. " Care to tell me?"

" Oh, right." Yoh said cheerfully, taking a glance at Anna who had stayed quiet for the entire conversation. Her eyes met his and merely shrugged before getting back to her food. He raised his eyebrows before turning to Hao. " Hao. . .I wanted to invite you to the party Anna and I are hosting."

Hao's eyes widened, before smiling witheringly.

" Much obliged, dear brother." he said. " But I don't think I want to be beaten to death by all your dear friends."

" We both know they can't lay a finger on you if you had an intention to kill." Yoh said, his lips twitching. " Anyway, I'll make sure nothing happens to you. How about that?"

Hao stayed silent for a moment before shutting his eyes.

" Sorry." he said simply. " I have no reason to go, and even if I did, I have no intention to."

Yoh's eyes were wide with shock, but Anna nodded her head silently; she knew that would be his answer from the start. Even if Yoh was willing to forgive him, he was still unable to forgive himself. They continued eating in silence until Hao suddenly rose to his feet, the empty bowl of rice in his hands. " I'm finished." he said. " Is that all you wanted to tell me? Because I have something else to do tonight."

Yoh turned to Anna, who sighed gravely.

" Yeah," Yoh said. " That's all I wanted to say."

" Very well then. Thanks for the food." Hao said, disappearing behind the wall leading to the kitchen.

Yoh sighed miserably, dropping his chopsticks onto the table depressingly. Anna opened a shut eye to look at him before getting to her feet. " I'll try to convince him." she said to Yoh, whose eyes widened. " After all, I'm the only person in the world who he actually likes, anyway. Besides you, of course." she added.

" Thanks." Yoh said gratefully.

" No problem." Anna answered.

At this moment, there was a knock on the door. The both of them glanced at each other, and Anna turned to answer it. " No, I'll do it." Yoh replied. " You talk to Hao."

Anna nodded before disappearing through the same wall leading to the kitchen.

Eyebrows raised, Yoh went to the door and opened it expectantly, and his eyes widened at the sight of a woman with such sheer beauty that he just stood there for a moment, spellbound by her appearance. " Asakura. . ." the girl said to his, a lemon wedged between her teeth. " I thought you would have left by now. . ."

Yoh blinked. " No, not just yet." he said, confused.

" Oh. . ." she said.

" And. . .who are. . .?" he started.

" I'm going to be leaving in less than a day." Sumiko said to him, almost tearfully. She tried to ignore his confused looks, and instead brought her attention to the buttons on his shirt, letting the lemon fall out of her lips to the ground. " I know I've already said this before, but. . .I'm in love with you."

Yoh's eyes widened.

Just who was this girl. . .?

" Look. . .I'm sorry, but I'm in love with Anna now." he said to her, and he watched her face sag with sadness. " I'm really sorry. . ." he said, scratching the back of his head. " Plus, I'm not even familiar with you." A lone tear fell down Sumiko's face and she sighed, looking down at her feet. Well, that was it. The final step was done. She turned to look away to wipe the tear out of her eye hastily.

" Oh." she said. " Never mind then."

Silence.

" Are. . .you and Anna together?" she asked.

" Yeah, I guess you could say that." Yoh laughed.

" I thought she was in love with your brother?" Sumiko pressed on.

" Not as long as I'm here." Yoh said, smiling reassuringly. " I will love her to the end of my days."

Hot, wet tears were falling from her face now, and she struggled to remain calm. " Oh." she croaked. " Well then. I guess. . .Congratulations."

" Yeah." Yoh said uncomfortably. " Look, do you. . .?"

" Goodbye, Asakura." she said, walking away. Rain started to fall down from the sky and he chewed on his bottom lip. " What's your name?" he yelled out. She stopped, her eyes wide. Was he pulling some sort of cruel joke? Or was this just what Hao Asakura was? A person who forgot the names of women who he had already. . .?

" It's Yakumo." she said, almost sarcastically. " Goodbye, Asakura."

" Goodbye." Yoh said quietly, watching her walk away. " And I'm sorry."

It was a moment later when Yoh's eyes widened. She called him Asakura. By any chance she could have thought he was Hao, his brother?

Too bad Sumiko was too heartbroken to even think of the possibility that Yoh, Hao's sibling, could have been a twin brother

Too bad.

It was just too bad.

And the rain continued to fall.

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Hao sighed, placing the bowl into the sink, turning around, and jumped slightly at the sight of Anna standing at the door, her eyebrows raised. " Well, this certainly is a change from the old Hao Asakura." she said plainly. " What happened to all your quips? Your insults? Your cheeky comments?"

" Oh?" he said, " You missed me?"

" I didn't say that." she said defensively.

His eyes bore sadness, but yet he still smiled.

" I know." he said. " I'll be going off now."

She watched him leave for a moment before leaning against the sink behind her. " I remember I asked you this question before," she called out to him, and he stopped in mid-step. " What are you running away from? Not from me again, I hope?" He paused before turning around to meet eyes with her. " What do you still want with me?" he asked her. " It's obvious Yoh had to coax you to invite me along to this so-called party of yours. . ."

" I didn't say that either."

" Don't lie through your teeth." Hao snarled, his voice suddenly turning nasty, and she flinched. " I know you dislike me, and I'm actually okay with it now. But why the Hell did you make me look at you again? I don't want to steal you away from Yoh anymore. Frankly speaking, I'm God damn tired of it, and all I want now is a life without you, without Yoh, and without any of Yoh's stupid friends inside it."

Anna didn't flinch. She merely gazed back into his eyes which now bore so much resentment she was surprised it wasn't spelt out on his pupils. " You would be very lonely." she said quietly.

" Better lonely than hurt again." he snarled.

" What?" she snapped, annoyed now. " Are you still in love with me?"

Silence.

Her eyes widened.

" You. . .You still love me." she said, so quiet that she almost didn't hear it.

" Yes!" he said. " Oh course I am. What did you think? I was silently in love with you for over five years and you think I could suddenly hate you after all those years of wanting you?"

" No." she said silently. " I guess not."

" Great." he said. " Glad we have an understanding."

" Then why don't you take me away?" she asked, and he blinked. " If you love me so much then why don't you try to take me away with you? Don't give me that 'good brother' bullshit. Don't say because I'm powerful. We both know that your skills are still way over mine. **Why don't you use force to take me over**?"

" I. . ."

" Oh, because you love me so much, and you don't want to see me hurt?" she said sarcastically. " Don't give me that shit either. I could wipe my ass with that rubbish. I guess your love for me isn't that strong after all."

" But I. . ."

" Or could it be because. . ." she said, crossing her arms across her chest. " Your love as a brother for Hao still overpowers your love for me as a lover. Is that right?"

" SHUT UP!" he yelled, his eyes wide with fear now, his hand reached out, blasting a mouthful of flame in her direction. Merely raising a hand, it dissolved in mid-air. " Well, you certainly have weakened." she said sullenly. " Or is it because. . .you can't bear to hurt me again?"

He cursed under his breath and ran over to her, slamming her against the wall behind her. She winced in pain as he brought his face within inches from her. " Well then," he said nastily. " What were you saying before?"

" You. . .can't. . .bear. . .to. . .hurt. . .me." she said through clenched teeth. They glared at each other for a few more minutes before he dropped her, and she fell to the ground, brushing herself off. " What are you true intentions, Hao?" she asked him, her voice gentle now. He flinched and looked up to meet her eyes. " What's your true facade? Are you upset? Are you angry? Are you. . .lonely?"

His eyes widened, and watched her in bewilderment before stepping away. For the first time in her life, she saw true fear in his eyes; and as he stepped back to the door, he resembled like a child lost from his parents, and all he wanted to do was to find his way home.

" I don't want this. . ." he muttered. " I don't want. . ."

" What don't you want?" she persisted.

He looked up at her now, his eyes suddenly solemn.

" Don't try to understand me, Anna." he snarled.

" And what's stopping me?"

The continued to glare at each other for another passing moment.

" Come to the party tomorrow." she said. " It means a lot to Yoh."

" And with what reason should I?"

" I just said it." she said quietly.

He fell silent.

At that moment Yoh entered, his face worried. " Hao," he said, and Hao turned at the call of his name. " A girl just now came to our door. By any chance do you know her?"

" What's her name?" Hao said, finally looking away from Anna.

" Yakumo." Yoh replied.

Hao shook his head.

" Never heard of her." he said. His eyes continued to watch Anna closely before walking away. " By the way, Yoh." he said quietly as he stepped towards the door. " I think I might have some time tomorrow."

He glanced at Anna, who smiled at him.

" Great!" Yoh said, surprised, but glad. " Be there at eight, alright?"

His eyes never left Anna.

_Happy now?_ He almost seemed to be asking her.

_Very._ She seemed to reply.

And in a burst of flames, he disappeared from the Asakura Household.

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Jeanne was lounging inside her room peacefully when there was a knock on her door. " Come in," she called out. At that, the door burst open; a man in a white suit did a full cartwheel and bowed down before her, a phone in his hands. " Jeanne-sama," he said, his voice quivering with every ounce of respect. " Someone is on the phone for you."

" Thank you, Marco." she said, smiling sheepishly. You would think that after thirty over times of the same routine she would get used to Marco doing gymnastics before her, but it still brought a smile to her face. " Who is it?"

" It's Anna Kyoyuma." Marco said.

" Oh, is it?" Jeanne said, beaming, taking the phone from him. " Thank you."

He was now bowing so low his forehead was practically digging into the floor now. He nodded; or at least, there were three dull thuds against the ground, and he walked out the room in quick strides, shutting the door behind him. " Hello?" Jeanne said into the receiver. " Anna, is that you?"

" Hi," Anna said on the other end. " Did you get the invitation card?"

" Yes, thank you so much." Jeanne said. " Thanks for inviting all the X-Laws, it means a lot to me."

" Anything for a friend." Anna said, scratching the back of her head. " But I didn't call for that. We have school tomorrow, right? Do you mind lending me Shamash tomorrow? I have to question a few people."

" Oh?" Jeanne asked, her eyebrows raised. " Who?"

" I was thinking of Ren, Horo Horo, Lyserg, Chocolove, Yoh. . .Opacho too, if necessary."

" Wow." Jeanne said, startled. " What's this about?"

" I need to find out about what Hao's plans are." Anna said tightly. " Every single point. . .clue. . .fact. . .everything that I can use to find out about him."

Her hands clenched on the phone in her hands.

" No matter what cost."

END CHAPTER 24

Well, this one certainly was lengthy. In case some of you have not been able to guess, Shiho Miyano from Detective Conan made a short entrance in this story; she was the girl who spoke to Yoro. Not much use of that, I just thought it would be slightly amusing. Anyway, we're down to the last chapter. The last one will, I hope, be triply long as fast-paced. In that chapter, everything you have been wondering will finally be answered. However, I'm sorry to the readers who wanted Horo Horo X Tamao romance inside this story; I'm afraid I will not have enough time to squeeze that into the final chapter. The reason why I added Ren X Pirika was to hint of Hao's control of Ren, and nothing else. Well, besides to please you Ren X Pirika fans, that is. What is to become of Anna and Yoh? Whose side is Hao Asakura on? Will Yoh's friends finally forgive Hao? What is to become of Sumiko? The countdown is over. The last chapter is set. It will hopefully, be done in less than two weeks.

**PLEASE LOOK FORWARD FOR THE ENDING OF ' A GIRL CALLED ANNA' **


	25. THE END

Yes, everyone, welcome to the final chapter of A Girl Called Anna. It drained the last breath out of me and I feel. . .well, basically. . .drained. Here this one is, everyone! Before I start off, let me give a hearty congratulation to **jan-i-am** for correctly guessing the. . .erm. . .facts, about Sumiko. Well done! Haha. Looks like I have a lot to learn. Well, take a deep breath, have a moment of silence, and be prepared to read the finale, chapter 25 of ' A Girl Called Anna.'

CHAPTER 25 (FINALE)

" So what have you got?" Jeanne asked Anna curiously, who wearily but confidently sat back down in her chair in the library, quickly attended to by an anxious Jeanne and Lyserg. " Not so bad for a day's work." Anna said tiredly. " I read through about twenty memories, and I think I have a rough understanding on what's going on. However," she added, as Lyserg opened his mouth to interrupt. " I still can't find out what Hao Asakura is thinking. He can be helping Yoh at one moment and be planning against him in the other. It's sheer madness."

Jeanne rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

" Well, surely you have some leads?" Lyserg asked Anna pointedly.

" Oh, I have leads, but they certainly bring me nowhere." Anna said wirily. " It's like trying to find the end of a road strip." she sighed again before sitting upright. " Now please leave me be, the two of you. I need to contemplate on this alone."

" You sure you don't need my help?" Jeanne said.

" You don't think I can do this on my own?" Anna asked quietly.

" N. . .No!" Jeanne said, flustered. " Well, me and Lyserg will be over there by the counter. . ."

Anna nodded at them as they made their way off before rubbing her chin thoughtfully. It started off with Hao offering Yoh help. What was his plan there? Surely he would not have wanted her and Yoh to be together whole-heartedly; based on Hao's skills inside the night club, he could have gotten them together as quickly as day. Another thing that puzzled her was why he had bothered to cover up for Yoh at the night club when he was hitting on some random girl at the end of the bar. Was he using reverse psychology?

" Surely you jest." Anna muttered under her breath.

" I didn't tell a joke." came a cheerful voice behind her, sitting down on the chair beside her.

Without even looking up, she sighed. " Hello, Yoh." she said.

" Hi." he said. " What are you doing inside on such a beautiful day? I would have thought you wanted to hang out in the school garden or something. I was even ready to pay some people to clear off the area so we could enjoy the comfortable breeze."

" I bet that's not all you wanted." Anna said, smirking at him.

" Well, I'm not saying I didn't have something else in mind." he said, grinning back at her, placing his hands gently on her shoulders. " But clearly you had something on your mind to put yourself here. What are you scribbling on that piece of paper?" he asked, glancing at the sheet for a moment, answering his own answer just as quickly. " Hao." he muttered. " I didn't think you were serious when you told me you were going to ask Jeanne to borrow Shamash for the day."

" Well, I was." Anna said pointedly. " By the way, did you mail out every single one of the invitation letters? We need them to receive it before seven; that's when the party begins."

" Relax," Yoh said reassuringly. " Amidamaru and the other spirits visited all the houses with the people that were invited and told me that they all received them. Am I right?" he asked the samurai that was bobbing up and down by his shoulder, and the swordsman nodded at Anna feverishly. Anna nodded back, satisfied, and returned to her paperwork. It was about a minute later when she was about to ask Yoh why he had suddenly become so strangely quiet when she felt his fingers brush against her inner thigh, and she glared at him warningly.

" What?" he said in a loud whisper. " Ren did it before!"

" To you?" Anna said sarcastically. " And it felt so good you wanted to pass it on?"

" No, to Pirika!" he said indignantly. " He said she enjoyed it a lot, and well, I wanted to try it out too!"

" You're mental." Anna whispered. " Lyserg and Jeanne are just a few tables away!"

" And there's two schoolgirls right behind us." Yoh said, his lips twitching.

" You're insane!" she whispered urgently. " Stop it right now before I slap you across the head!"

" _Just remember one thing," Ren had told him pointedly, as Yoh chewed his lip hesitantly. " No matter what she says, just go all the way. Remember this. . .she wants it as much as you. Always keep that in mind, and you can do no wrong."_

" Alright then," he whispered, hoping he sounded much more confident than he felt; he never thought he would be this nervous in his life. His first two fingers pushed aside her underwear while his middle finger delved into her and she let out a suppressed whimper. " Stop me."

She aimed a glare at him but all she got was a caring smile that almost sent her to the edge. " Still not going to scream out my name?" he whispered into her ear as he slid another finger into her, instilling a moan from her lips. " I don't mind if you do it now, you know. I don't think anyone here would mind, to think of it."

" I. . .won't. . ." she breathed, her eyes fluttering, her hands clenched on the hem of her skirt.

" Won't what, my love?" he whispered, caressing her inner thighs with his free hand. " Do be more specific."

God, Anna didn't know why Yoh needed lessons from Hao in the first place. He was already almost as cocky as he was. She had to remind herself to tell this to Yoh later on. Yoh's lips twitched as he noticed her quivering legs desperately trying to prevent themselves from clamping over his clever fingers and he slowly lifted his hand up to stroke her cheek as the other continued its action. Her lips trembled and she still refused to make eye contact with him, biting down hard on her lip as he delved a third finger into her with a quick thrusting action.

A few tables away from them, two school boys looked at Yoh admiringly. With Yoh's fingers and Anna's legs out of sight they clearly had no idea what was going on down there, and just gazed at Yoh with respect. " Check out that guy." one muttered. " He's able to make her tremble in his arms just by touching her cheek."

" That's respect right there." the other said feverishly.

Anna clenched her teeth and looked down at her hasty scribbles of notes on the table, her face slowly becoming glassy-eyed. She was making soft pants under her breath as Yoh's fingers pumped inside her quicker and quicker now, and whenever she felt a jolt surge through her body she would let out a small gasp of shock and pleasure.

Yoh was curious to know just how far she would let him go. His pants were becoming incredibly tight at the mere sight of her, and it was taking everything inside him to stop himself from just ripping off his clothes and joining her as one. He was about to jump in for the kill when her hand grabbed his hand and pulled him out of her; he let out a moan of protest. " Not now." she whimpered. " Please."

He looked at her rather sulkily before propping up a book before him so he could bring his wet fingers to his lips. His eyes never leaving hers, he slowly licked the cum off his fingers, and she let out an involuntary shudder. " God, you taste delicious." he muttered, and she blushed to the roots of her hair. It was a moment later when she suddenly thought of something. Yoh was actually pretty smooth with the ladies when he wanted to. He just proved to her, anyway. From the memories Hao did not do any such lessons of the sort; to tell the truth, all of his lessons were totally useless to Yoh. She was sure he knew Yoh had this inside him. Why did he. . .?

" You alright?" Yoh asked her, wiping his hand on his pants.

" Yeah." she said, snapping out of her reverie. " Are you sure Ren did that to Pirika in the library?"

" No, actually." Yoh admitted. " During Math Class."

" Really?" Anna said incredulously. " I was sitting right next to them!"

" Amazing." Yoh said. " I was right next to you."

Silence.

" I can't believe I almost made you come right before everyone." Yoh said jokingly, and she glared at him menacingly. " I wonder what sort of sounds you would have made?"

" Well, you're certainly a confident piece of shit." she said maliciously.

" Yeah, well, I almost made a goddess fall into ecstacy." he said, smiling at her.

" Hmph." she muttered, her face burning. It was at that moment when she had an idea. She looked under the table; there was a board before it, which meant nobody could see her if she was inside, bending down. . .She grinned at him before stepping down below the table, ducking beneath it. He raised his eyebrows. " Hey, Anna, what are you. . ." he started, before gasping as he felt her hands on his pants buckle. Grabbing the nearest book to him, he pulled it before his face just in time before he moaned out loud as she pushed his pants off his legs, the constriction inside it breathing in to the cool air of the surroundings. It was that moment when Manta, Tao Ren and Horo Horo chose the worst moment in the world to make their entrance. He could almost feel the smile on Anna's face as she pulled down his boxers and he let out an appreciative groan.

" Hey, Yoh." Manta said cheerfully. " Free to chat?"

" If it's quick," Yoh muttered, wincing as Anna placed small butterfly kisses on his throbbing crotch.

" Well, we know that you already invited us over to the party, but there's something else that we wanted to suggest to you." Ren said, scratching the back of his neck uncomfortably.

" Oh?" Yoh breathed, as Anna pressed her lips gingerly over the lip of his crotch.

" Well, since Anna isn't here, I thought it would be a good opportunity to pop in the question before she has time to say no," Horo said cheekily, and Yoh winced as Anna bit into his member slightly at the sudden mention of her name. He was sincerely glad of the book before him, as he was much less able to hide his emotions from the crowd than Anna was. It was at this moment when he felt sorry for Anna for him being such an ass previously, and admired her for being able to hold it all in. " We were hoping you could let our parents also come."

At that moment, Anna brought his entire member into her open mouth, and he jumped.

" Whoa!" he yelped.

" What?" Ren asked, him, as the others stepped back.

" But if you don't want to, then it's okay," Horo said hurriedly at Yoh's unexpected reaction. " I could just tell my dad to ride back to shore, it's alright. He's used to abandoned voyages, and he would perfectly understand your plight. . ."

" No, it's not that," Yoh groaned into the book before him as Anna started to make feverish movements with her mouth, forcing him to lose control. " I don't mind. . .in the. . .least. Do. . .what you want. Anything."

" You sure?" Manta asked uncomfortably. " Because you seem flustered about it."

" I'm fine." Yoh panted, as Anna started licking and nibbling and sucking on him furiously at him now. " Is there anything else you wanted to ask me?"

" Yeah," Ren said, his eyebrows raised now. " Ryu said something about bringing beer to the party. You want to barr him against it or something?"

" Ask. . .Anna. . .about this. . ." Yoh muttered, and Anna let a soft chuckle, stroking him softly, purring deeply. He groaned, his legs shaking, feeling his moment coming soon.

She, apparently, sensed it too.

Her fingers danced lazily on his member which seemed like nothing gentle; it was more like a tiger smiling at you before biting your head off. He certainly hoped Anna wasn't planning on biting his off, if you know what I mean. Ren, Horo and Manta gave each other one last confused glance before shrugging, and walked out of the library, leaving Yoh alone on the table, breathless and forlorn.

" You're going to pay for that," he said to the table menacingly.

" Aww. . .do you want me to stop?" came her soft, playful voice.

" I. . ." he started, before groaning as her tongue, lips, teeth, mouth and hands worked in careful co-ordination, bringing him pleasure beyond recognition, and it was merely seconds later when he she pulled his member out of her mouth, and he came all over the blocked library floor, gasping and moaning for breath behind his book. It was a few minutes later when Anna emerged from underneath the table, propping her hands loungily on her chin, smiling lovingly at him. " Hi, honey."

" Hello." he said venomously.

Silence.

" Come on, you have to admit you liked it." Anna said, smirking.

He sighed and pressed a small kiss on her cheek. " Yeah, I did." he said, and her lips twitched. " But I'm warning you. . .I'm going to make you scream out my name by the end of tonight."

She smiled and pulled away, drawing away from her chair, grinning.

" I'll love to see you try." she whispered.

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It was in the middle of class when Hao suddenly heard his phone ring. He pulled it out of his pocket and took a quick glance at the Caller ID, and blinked. " Opacho," he muttered. " I wonder what he could possibly want with me now?" He took a quick look around the class before leaning down in his chair so the teacher in front could not see him. He pulled the phone to his cheek. " Hello?" he muttered under his breath.

" Hao-sama!" the little boy said to him urgently. " Sumiko's leaving your household today!"

" What?" Hao gasped, and several heads turned around to raise their eyebrows at him. He gave them a sheepish grin before sinking back into his chair. " Is she still there?"

" Yes," Opacho said tearfully. " That Ejio boy came by. . ."

" He's conscious?" Hao said incredulously.

" Yes." Opacho said. " Apparently he got out of his coma a moment ago and he came straight over. Anyway, he came over and they had a really long talk. In the end she told me that she would be packing up and leaving as soon as she was finished with her belongings."

" That's not going to be long, she didn't bring anything with her." Hao snapped. " What time was it when she told you she was leaving?"

" About twelve in the afternoon. Not too long from now."

He looked at his watch.

It was twelve thirty.

" Shit and damn," Hao cursed. " I'm going to hang up now." Hao said to Opacho. " I'll teleport there as soon as I get out of school. . .I'm not allowed to use magic in here. Common policy."

" Hao-sama. . ." Opacho said, chewing on his bottom lip. " Why do this?"

" It's not like I want to, the principal makes me. . ."

" Not that," Opacho said, louder now. " I mean. . .why. . .do you want her to stay?"

Hao paused, his eyes wide.

Why **did** he want her to stay?

" Hao-sa. . ."

" Don't ask stupid questions," Hao cut in, getting to his feet. " I'll be there as soon as I can." He switched off his phone and was ready to bolt for the door when the teacher called out his name, his eyebrows raised. Hao sighed and turned around to face him. " There's been a family emergency, sensei. May I leave?"

The teacher blinked, looking at Hao for a full, impassive moment before his the corners of his mouth turned upwards into a grin. " Certainly not." the man said, a smirk playing on his lips now. You see, it was every teacher's dream to make Hao's life Hell. It was just that they did not know how, and when they got the rare opportunity to upset him, they very well abused it as much as they could. " Class time will be over in fifteen minutes. Please wait until then. I will excuse you from your next class."

" Isn't next class lunch?" Yoh asked Ren dimly.

Ren rolled his eyes, choosing not to comment.

" Son of a. . ." Hao growled under his breath.

" What was that?" the teacher said, smiling tauntingly at him. " Care to repeat that?"

A hot ripple of anger filled his veins as he took a strong step towards the man, flames started to emert from his fingers, burning holes in the piece of paper he held in one hand. " Please, sir." he said forcefully, straining to keep his voice as polite as possible. " I really need to leave. It's an emergency."

" Oh yes, I'm sure it is." the teacher said, grinning broadly. " That's why I want you to stay put. I'm sure someone that important can wait for you for just fifteen minutes. Besides, I thought you always liked to enter a scene late? Just like in class, to detention or anything else. Like to be in style, don't you?"

Hao's eyes were mulitiuos, and already students aside him were cowering in fear.

Anna, from the other end of the hall, glared at Hao warningly.

" Don't do it," Anna muttered under her breath.

" I. Need. To. Leave." Hao snarled. " If I didn't make myself clear enough, I would like to emphasize it now. I'm getting out of this classroom right now no matter what you say, so you might as well act like you agreed to it. That way you wouldn't have to embarrass yourself in the teacher's lounge again."

" Oh, that's why I hate stuck-up teenagers." the teacher said, the smile totally erased from his face now; it was replaced by a very ugly look. " Think they own the world. Back in my years, when a teacher said something, the students listened."

Hao's hands were shaking so much it seemed like he was in a massage chair. " I bet at that time you also rode a brontosaurs to school, isn't that right?"

The teacher glared at him, and Hao leered straight back, the flames in his hand burning brighter and brighter. The teacher looked at him for a couple more minutes before turning around, his hands in his pockets. " Sit back down on your seat, Asakura." he said. " I will not repeat myself."

" I daresay you might."

Yoh let out an involuntary shiver, let most of the others in the class. It was not usual to see Hao lose his temper; his eyes were in dangerous slits, his hands blazing with fire, and it was then when Hao turned back into what he was when he first entered the school, the true nightmare of a teacher's dream. The teacher was lucky he did not turn around, because he might have screamed as some of the students were doing now. Instead, he said ever so coldly, " Sit down, Asakura. Don't think for one second I would believe your feeble attempt of a lie. I daresay you've got some appointment with a girl out of school? After all, you wouldn't even shed a tear if your own mother died, anyway."

" Shit," Anna muttered, jumping to her feet.

Hao's eyes were livid as he pointed his finger in the direction where the teacher was standing, and out burst a jet of fire, slicing straight in his direction. Several girls screamed as it shot right by them, and it very well seemed like Hao was going to set the teacher on fire when suddenly Anna appeared before him, a hand outstretched, the flames bouncing off her palm. The regular Hao would have seemed amused. But this time he was glaring at Anna with such hatred that she stepped back, almost losing her cool.

" I do not want to kill you, Anna." he said.

" I don't want you in jail either." she answered.

They glared at each other from both ends of the classroom, and it would have gone on for a few more minutes if it were not for Yoro-sensei appearing at the door. " Yes, Yoro! Right on time!" the teacher said, terrified, cowering behind Anna. " Did you see what happened to me? Hao Asakura attacked me!"

" I know." Yoro said coldly. " Hao? May I speak to you for a moment?"

Hao glared at him for a moment before following him out the room, slamming the door behind him. Anna let out the breath she was holding and clenched her fist. " What's gotten into you, Hao?" she muttered under her breath. " What made you lose your temper so easily?"

" _You wouldn't have shed a tear if you own mother died, anyway."_

Family.

She frowned.

" Very well done, Kyoyuma." the teacher said, patting her on the shoulder. " Now get back to your seat so we can continue the lesson." She nodded to herself, stepping off the stage, her hands clasped together, pointing at the crowd. " Memory. . .erased." she muttered, a soft, dull mist overbearing the students in the hall.

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" That was rash of you." Yoro muttered, walking Hao out the school gates.

" He provoked me." Hao growled.

" That's not a good enough reason. I had to SMS Anna's phone to make her wipe out the memories of over a hundred students in the classroom as soon as I heard about you. What's more, I'm going to have to change everything once I get back to the principal, and. . .argh, damn you, Hao!"

" I'm sorry." Hao muttered.

" No bother." Yoro said. " Just don't do it again, and everything will be fine. Now, go. I can guess you're having a rough day?"

" Yes." Hao said, stepping out of the school, bursting into flames. " Thank you."

With that, he disappeared.

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" You're perfectly sure about this?"

Sumiko turned around to face her brother, who was gazing back at her emotionlessly. She looked at him for a moment before walking off, acting like his question did not matter at all in significance. He sighed and scratched the back of his neck. " Look. . .Kino told me everything." he said, and she stopped in mid-step. Her back still facing him, she sighed. " Is it true that you've fallen for Hao Asakura?" he asked her.

She said nothing, and yet he understood. " The same thing happened not too long ago, didn't it?" he asked. " You fell for the boy who you met while waiting for young Anna to return from her walk."

She stayed quiet before continuing to walk out the door.

" Will you be happy like this?" he asked her.

" I would be happy if you shut your mouth." she said, and stepped into her shoes. He grimaced before walking behind her, looking up at the skies. It was raining. " We don't have to do this, nee-san." he said to her. " Kino said it was not compulsory for us to return, and I quite agree with her. I want you to stay here and be happy."

" When. . ." Sumiko said, finally getting into her shoes and stood up from the floor. " Have you ever seen me happy before?"

He followed her, his feet stepping lightly into his slippers.

" When you're with Hao Asakura." he said.

At that, they stayed motionless, just a few steps from leaving his front door.

There was total silence except for the dull patter of rain on the roof tiles of the apartment. " Let's go." she said quietly.

" Does go mean to leave forever, or to leave momentarily, and return because you felt something behind on purpose and wanted to come back to retrieve it?" he pressed on.

" I didn't leave anything behind."

" Oh, yes you did. You just refuse to admit it."

" The blow on your head did more damage to you than the doctors admitted. You're going for a checkup once we return to Kino's house."

" And you'll look for Faust, who will soon bring you to Hao Asakura."

" Shut up, Ejio."

" You want me silenced because the pain is too deep, am I not wrong?"

" You're incorrect."

" Oh, no I'm not. I know you more than anyone else on the face of this earth. And I know what goes through your mind. You love Hao Asakura, and even as you make your way out his house, your heart is left behind."

" I. . ."

Ejio glanced at her, and yet she still did not turn around. She took a step out of the house, the rain simply bouncing off her shoulders. " I will not repeat myself. Let's go, Ejio."

Ejio sighed and nodded. " Yes, nee-san." he said.

It was at that moment when they shut the door behind them when a figure approached them, and they stopped dead in their tracks. Hao Asakura stood there alone in the rain, his hands in his pockets, his eyes watching the two of them sorrowfully. " Ejio," he said. " I see you're out. How are you feeling?"

" I'm alright, sir." Ejio said.

Hao then turned to Sumiko, who refused to meet his gaze.

" Sumiko. . ." he started.

" As I recall, I don't remember you minding about it much when I told you last night that I would be leaving." she butted in coldly. " Kino found us another place to stay. I thank you for the many days that you allowed us to stay in your place."

" You know I don't bite well on bullshit, Sumiko." he said harshly. " You're going to stay with Kino. That's way too troublesome for an old hag like her. Stay in my place."

She looked up to meet his eyes.

" Why do you want me to stay?"

The words hammered into his head once again.

Why **did** he want her to stay?

Silence befell them and she sighed, walking past him, her hands in her pockets delicately. Ejio walked behind her, but as he passed Hao, their eyes met for the most brief of moments. Hao's eyes widened as he opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly the scene seemed to fade from his eyes, and replacing Ejio and Sumiko was the child Anna, standing on the end of the road.

Her eyes were cold, and she stared right back at him.

His mouth widened.

_A girl stood in the middle of the road, an umbrella in her hand, looking up at the sky in dazed wonderment. There was something distinctly childish about her; yet there was something also utterly magnificent about her. She was like a frosted ice maiden; pale and unblemished, not suitable to be touched. He took an obvious step towards her, and her gaze fell onto his. Immediately he could feel an unnamed air dispersing around her, and despite how strong he already was at that age, he could not help but feel a slight bit of fear for this child._

" Who. . .are you?" he questioned.

The girl gazed up at him, and took a careful step towards him.

" _Strayed away from your mother?" he asked kindly, almost to an extent of mocking._

_She did not answer, but continued to watch him._

_There was something different about this girl. She was young and old at the same time; an ageless wonderment that stood before him. They were barely a meter apart from each other when he stopped in his steps._

_And her watchful eyes stayed on him._

" _It's too dangerous for a young girl like you to be alone with this weather." he said cheerfully._

" _Neither is it time for young boys to play outside." she rebuted calmly._

She was familiar. So distinctly familiar.

_A flicker of amusement danced in his eyes._

" _Is that all you wanted to tell me?" she snapped._

" _Are you in a rush?" he asked._

" _No." she said._

_He read her mind fairly easily. " You're waiting to pick up a cousin, and this is your meeting place." he said, and she spun around to look at him, eyes wide._

" _What's your name?" he asked, taking yet another step towards her._

" _Who needs to know?" she said._

" _I do." he said calmly. " Now, if you may, would you tell me?"_

" What's your name?" Hao asked.

Slowly, almost deliberately, she drew a lemon to her lips and his eyes widened.

" Sumiko." she replied. " Yakumo Sumiko."

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The scene seemed to return to Hao, and there stood Sumiko and Ejio before him once more, but they were slowly and quietly disappearing into the distance. " Sumiko!" he yelled. " Sumiko! Come back! Sumiko!"

Yet, her pace did not hasten.

Ejio looked up at her.

" Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked her.

" Yes." she replied, and they disappeared into the mist around them.

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" I'm so glad you allowed us to come over before the party started, Anna." Tao Jun said happily.

Anna gave her a withering smile before glancing at the other three hopeful grins of Pirika, Jeanne and Tamao. She sighed and looked down at her feet. " I suspected you would be able to corner me somewhere somehow. So. . .fire away, I guess." Tao Jun looked surprised before grinning at the others, who gave her encouraging nods. " You told us that you finally made love to Yoh, but you spared the details. We want you to confess everything right now."

" Like what?" Anna said wearily.

" What happened after that?" Pirika asked eagerly.

" What do you mean?"

" Like. . .was there soft kissing after the moment, or what?" Jeanne asked, bobbing on the balls of her feet. " Or did he just leave the room for a shower? Or did you fall asleep in each others arms? Or did you start doing it all over again after a moments rest? Or did the phone ring? Or did you feign sleep, and when Yoh fell asleep did you go watch the television? Or did you. . ."

" I'm begging you to stop." Anna said.

" What happened afterwards?" Tao Jun asked. " Come on, Anna, I told you all about my past experiences. . .it's only fair that you tell me yours."

" Oh. . ." Anna said, chewing on her bottom lip. " I don't. . ."

" Out with it, Anna!" the four girls said aloud.

Anna sighed. " Fine. I went to the shower. Yoh followed me inside, and. . ."

" You didn't!" Pirika gasped, while Tao Jun and Jeanne giggled.

" Yeah, we did." Anna said, blushing furiously.

" Was he. . .good?" Tamao asked timidly.

Anna blinked at her before smirking. " You're certainly dirtier than you look." she muttered, and Tamao blushed through the roots of her hair. " Come on, out with it, Anna!" the other three yelled, their lips carrying inconceivable large grins. Anna glared at them for a moment before sighing. " He was, alright?"

" And? And? And?" Pirika and Jeanne chanted.

" And what?" Anna snapped, irritated.

" Describe the details, my dear Anna!" Tao Jun said. " Was his chest well-sculpted? Were his arms muscular? Was his ass tight? How big was his. . .?"

" Shut up!" Anna snapped, her face red as the door suddenly slid open, and there stood Yoh. No words could describe how long the others laughed. In fact, they laughed so long that Pirika's face turned to all colours of the rainbow; starting with red and ending with a very beautiful blue, just like her hair. " Er. . .Did I come at a back time?" Yoh asked, scratching the back of his head, which triggered off their laughter again.

" Yes, you did." Anna said, flushing, who was not in the mood to explain to him that they found any word associated with sex funny, even the slightest word like ' Come'. " Have you got the decorations up yet?"

" Soon." Yoh said, smiling cheekily. " Ren and the others are coming over to help me out."

" Alright." Anna said. " Get out, please."

They burst into hysterics.

Anna sighed.

" Okay." Yoh said. " Just call out my name. . ."

Tao Jun was almost screaming now.

" . . .When you need me. . ."

Pirika pounded her fists against the floor.

" . . .And I'll come right away."

Jeanne burst into a fit of giggles, and Yoh, now completely confused, gave one last smile at Anna before shutting the door. Anna glared at them, which seemed to stop them slowly. " Oh, that's real mature." she snarled, and the others paused for a moment, wiping the tears out of their eyes. " Will you quite while you're ahead?"

" Sorry." Tao Jun choked, wiping a last tear out of her eyes. " We couldn't help it."

" Oh, I'm sure of that." Anna said sarcastically.

" However, Anna. . ." Tao Jun said, her face serious now. " I was always worried about your relationship with Yoh in one aspect, and that was the mutual love and control." she finished, and by now there was not a sound of laughter in the room; everyone was looking serious, all staring at Jun with questioning faces. " It's like this. . ." Jun said, cutting into Anna's speech without letting her speak. " From what I'm guessing, you and Yoh did it a few times after the first. Is that right?"

" Yes." Anna said, not feeling embarrassed at all. " Is that bad?"

" Huh? No, it's not. It's sweet, actually." Tao Jun said, smiling at her. " Would you care to remember when you two have. . .er. . .made love, once again?"

The air was so sullen that even Pirika was looking collected.

" Er. . .I think I can." Anna said.

" Now, think very carefully now. Who was the one who initiated them? If I'm not wrong, I believe there was not once where you showed Yoh that you physically need him so badly that you did not care who was watching, or where you were." Jun said gravely, and Anna's eyes widened. " Am I not wrong?" Jun finished quietly.

" _Now, don't think of anything strange, Yoh, all I want is for us to have a shower together." Anna said warningly, waggling a finger in front of his face. He cocked his head and grinned at her cheekily. " And why do you want that so suddenly, my dear?" he asked her. " Surely the first time we had sex made you feel dirty?" She glared at him before stepping into the bathroom, flicking the shower lights on._

" _Let there be light." Yoh muttered foolishly._

" _That was Chocolove-type humor." Anna said._

" _And no doubt you are amused by it?"_

" _Not by half." Anna said, switching the heater on._

_They sat there in silence for a moment, waiting for the heater to fully work for ten minutes. During this moment, Yoh spend his time gazing at Anna, while she spent the time deliberately trying to avoid his gaze. It was a moment later when he giggled and she turned to face him irritably. " You're so cute." he said. She answered him with a slap across his cheek. His smile did not falter, and all he did was continue to watch her._

" _What has gotten into you?" she asked him incredulously. " Surely this is not what a man becomes after making love for the first time in his life?"_

_He giggled and bent down to look at his knees. " It's just that. . .I'm so glad that I can finally call you righteously mine." he said, and her expression softened. " When I first met you, I already knew you were the one who would give me non-stop tears and suffering. But I also knew you were the one who I would love for eternity."_

_Anna stopped in a mid-slap before sitting back on her feet, her face turning crimson._

" _Idiot." she muttered._

_It was at that moment when a soft clinking sounded, which meant that the showers were ready for use. She sighed and got to her feet, in which he got up too. Her back still facing her, her face looking straight into the glass doors of the shower cubicle, she sighed softly. " Yoh." she said, and he blinked. _

" _Yes?" he questioned._

" _I love you." she said, after a pause._

_He smiled._

" _I love you too."_

_She turned around and whipped her hand across his face at that, and he stepped back in shock. " What the Heck was that for?" he asked her, astonished. " It's nothing." Anna said calmly. " It's just that I thought for a moment there, my dear Yoh had turned into some lovesick puppy, and I wanted to wake you up."_

" _Maybe I have." Yoh said, smiling at her. " I could have been sleeping all this while."_

_She responded with another slap on his cheeks, and entered the shower cubicle. " You're sweet." she said flatly. " Irritating, but sweet."_

" _Thank you." he said, entering the cubicle with her, shutting the door behind him._

" _Don't do anything." she said, warningly still._

" _Not going to." he said calmly, reaching beside her to grab a cake of. . ._

" _Soap?" he asked her politely. " Yes please." she said. He rubbed it against the palm of his hands before massaging it onto Anna's head, and she let out a soft moan of pleasure. " You were always good with massaging, Yoh." she muttered, and his lips twitched. " Much obliged." he said, rubbing the soap down to her naked body. She gave him a warning glare, but he merely smiled down at her, continuing with his soft actions. Slowly and willingly, she shut her eyes and let him rub the solution all over her body. It was as he finished cleaning her legs when he stood back up again. She opened her eyes, and saw him gazing at her with such wanting and hunger she stood there, frozen for a moment._

_He pressed his lips on hers, one arm grabbing her forcefully against him, the other wrenching the tap on; water spraying down on them, and she moaned peacefully. " Do you feel how hard you make me, Anna?" he muttered into her ear and she blushed, feeling his throbbing erection against her naked thigh. _

" _Yes." she whispered._

_In one fluid motion, he slid himself into her, grasped both her thighs, and she wrapped them around his waist. " God, I want you so badly." he moaned._

" _We just had sex a few minutes ago." she whimpered, his member fully inside her._

" _If a man has been in the desert for years and finally reaches land, will one bottle of water be enough for him?" he said through gritted teeth. She whimpered as he made quick thrusts into her._

_Slowly and steadily, a small smile adorned her lips._

" _In that case. . ." She whispered into his ear. " Let me quench your thirst."_

_He replied with a moan, and continued to thrust into her._

That was the second time that they made love, and it was clearly Yoh who initiated it. The first time was, obviously, Yoh who made the first bold step. It was never her. It was always him. She struggled within her thoughts, ignoring the patient looks of the others, and rubbed her chin thoughtfully. What about the third time that took place on the rooftop? That was clearly initiated by her, she even went and put on makeup just to seduce him. However, when she thought about it once more for the second time. . .

_His hands delved into her skirt, receiving an encouraging moan from Anna and he virtually smiled against her pressed lips. Her lips left his and pressed feverent kisses on his neck. He moaned softly, which turned into a yelp at the end as Anna bit down hard on his earlobe. " Tease me again, and it'll be your death that will be paid with." she muttered. " Scary." he said, grinning. She almost smiled back at him until she heard the approaching of footsteps to the door of the top most level of the school._

_She made a vain attempt to push him away, but all that did was to make his grip on her hold firmer, and he fell down against the roof tiles below them; his body directly above hers. " Yoh!" she cried urgently. " There's people approaching this place! If they see us, I'm going to personally kill you!"_

" _They won't see us, because we're on the roof." Yoh said soothingly, gently caressing her hair, a move that always was lost on her. Not this time, though._

" _Even so. . .they. . .are. . .right. . .below. . .us!" she yelled, slapping his cheeks with every word that she said, but at the moment it did not seem to have an effect on him; his hands already removing her underwear and tossing it aside impatiently. " Yoh. . ." she whimpered, and her eyes widened as the door opened, and familiar voices rang out from below them._

" _Wow, it's really windy today." came the unsuspecting voice of Horo from below._

" _Lord have Mercy." Anna moaned._

" _Thanks." Yoh said cheerfully._

" _Not you," she snarled. " That blue-haired idiot's right below us!"_

" _Yeah, almost makes me wish Pirika was here instead of you two." came Ren's wistful voice._

" _Shit." Anna muttered._

" _Ah? Make a dish freebee car was here instead of blue two?"_

" _Damn, Chocolove is down there too." Anna moaned. " Yoh, I'm almost begging you now. . .please get off me."_

_For once, Yoh ignored her, and had already removed his pants and pressed himself into her. She let out a loud moan, before clasping her hands over her mouth quickly; terrified. " What was that?" came Horo's voice. " Was that the wind?"_

" _Dumbass." Ren said coldly. " How can wind sound like that?"_

" _Yeah!" said Chocolove. " How can Ren have found like a hat?"_

" _Yoh. . ." Anna moaned, thumping her fists against Yoh's chest in vain; his member already making fluid movements into her, thrusting into her with great feavour. " Please. . .don't. . ."_

_It was at that moment as their eyes met when she saw through them; lust, love, wanting, pain, pleasure. . .everything that he felt for her was through that one glance. Slowly but surely, her hands dropped to her sides, and she shut her eyes softly. He smiled at her and gently caressed her cheek. " God, I love you." he muttered. " Now you're just being a good Christian." she muttered, and his lips twitched. " Say my name, Yoh." she hissed._

" _After you say mine." he said, grinning._

" _You know, I think it sounded like a girl." Chocolove said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, and it sounded like Ren and Horo had finished beating him to a pulp. " I don't hear sounds coming from a girl much, but I believe that was one. Ren, of all people, should know, right?"_

" _Hmm." Ren said thoughtfully. " I think it did, now that you say it."_

" _Come on, lover. . ." Anna said throatily, drawing a thin finger against his clenched jaw soothingly. " Say my name."_

_He groaned; Anna certainly had a way to get the things she wanted without even trying. " Anna. . ." he moaned. " That's. . .not. . .loud enough," she whispered, thrusting back at him, gripping his shoulder painfully and he let out a painfully and lustful gasp._

" _Now what was that?" Horo exclaimed. " That's way too low for a girl's voice."_

" _Yes, it is." Ren said. " If I'm not wrong, two people are really enjoying themselves around here."_

" _Whoa!" came Horo's voice. " The girl sounded really hot! You guys feel like probing?"_

" _Dumbass, don't be stupid. Come on, let's go downstairs." came Ren's haughty voice._

" _A. . .Anna. . ." Yoh choked, as Anna pressed soft kisses against his neck._

" _Not loud enough, dear." she said._

" _You. . .want. . .them. . .to. . .hear. . .us?" Yoh gasped as Anna licked devilishly against his neck._

" _Previously you didn't seem to give a damn if they saw us or not." Anna said, rolling her hips, making him groan and moan like never before. " At the moment, I don't give a damn if they notice us or not; I'll just disappear before they arrive and you will seem like you were wanking to my name, or something."_

" _Bitch." he hissed._

" _What was that again?" Anna said, kissing his throat, her tongue darting in and out of her mouth once in a while, pleasuring him beyond anything possible. " God. . .that feels good. . ." Yoh moaned, his eyes shut. " Then say my name." Anna said coyly. " Say it, or I'll stop."_

" _Anna," he groaned._

" _Oh, don't be such a faggot." Horo said to Ren impatiently. " Where could they be? It should be somewhere where they think nobody can see them. Would it be behind those walls at the back?"_

" _What would you do if you see them, anyway?" Ren said impatiently. " The guy's not going to invite you to engage in a threesome, you know. I'm not going to help you get out of this one, you sick bastard."_

" _He might." Horo said, opening the back door and peering inside. " Nope, not in there. Hey, I wonder how hot the chick is? She should be, coming from the sounds of her voice."_

" _Maybe it was the wind." Ren said, rolling his eyes._

_Horo ignored him, and continued his search._

" _Anna!" Yoh groaned, bucking his hips. " I. . .I'm coming. . ."_

" _Now, now, sweetheart," she said tauntingly. " You know you have to use more profound words. How about. . .I'm approaching my limit?"_

" _Ah. . .I. . .Shut. . .up. . ."_

" _What was that?" she said, smirking._

" _You know," came Ren's voice from below. " What if they're both really ugly?"_

" _Then it's bad luck for Horo Horo, I guess." Chocolove said. " I'm going to laugh my head off if that happens."_

" _I certainly hope so." came Ren's cold voice. " So you won't be able to say anymore of those corny jokes anymore."_

" _Anna. . .please. . ." Yoh moaned as Anna started to slowen down her pace._

" _My name, please." she said tauntingly. Yoh bit down on his lip. Hard._

" _Come on, Horo Horo, you've looked everywhere, and it's not possible they're screwing in the sky. Let's just go now, alright?" Ren's impatient voice said. " We're going to be late for class."_

" _Hmph." Horo said grumpily. " Alright then."_

" _Aha?" said Chocolove. " A frying pan?"_

" _Keep making jokes, and I'm going to hit you in the mouth with one." Ren's threatening voice said as their voice echoed down the stairs followed by the slam of the door._

" _Anna!" he moaned as she rolled her hips more forcefully against his. " Please!"_

" _If you insist." she said coyly, and wrapped her arms around his neck, accepting his forceful thrusts, whimpering against his ear. " I would kill you if you weren't so damn beautiful." he breathed._

" _That's the reason why I'm still alive." she said throatily._

_He winced as he felt himself come, and screamed out her name as he pulled himself out of her in time._

" Huh." Anna muttered.

" What?" Tao Jun asked her.

" Now that you mention it, it's true that it was always Yoh who seemed like he wanted me so badly that it physically hurt him. I was never the one to start." Anna said, and at the moment Pirika raised her eyebrows at Anna doubtfully. " Er, Anna. . .do you like. . .doing it, with Yoh?"

" What sort of perverted question is that?" Anna asked incredulously.

" I mean. . .when the two of you were doing it, did both of you have equal wanting for each other, or was it mainly Yoh, and you were just acting like you were enjoying it to please Yoh?"

Silence.

" Oh my God." Anna whispered.

" That's right." Jun said grimly. " From my point of view, it seems like you have no physical attraction to Yoh at all."

" That. . .can't be right," Anna said, shocked.

" Then show him." Jun said firmly, while smiles adorned the faces of the others.

" And how do I do that?" Anna asked, dreading the answer.

" Oh, I'm sure you'll figure something out." Jeanne said, her lips twitching.

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" Hao, the party doesn't start till seven night." a very surprised Yoh who answered the door said. " I know," Hao said in a voice falsely cheery, swinging a shopping bag in his hands. " I just wanted to drop by some snacks that you can give at the party. Look, I have an entire box outside. . .this is just a bit out of each." he said plainly, dropping the bag onto the table and opened it up lankily.

" Oh, that's very thoughtful of you." Yoh said.

" No problem." Hao said. " Look, right here. Here's some ingredients for punch, there's some onigiri boxes right here, some japanese biscuits that Anna loves so much, and of course, the main ingredient. . ." he pulled out a large stack of condoms. " Here's for you, brother."

" Hao, not here!" Yoh gasped, stuffing it right into the bottom of the back hurriedly, and Hao laughed. " It's alright, I bet Anna's not going to mind you bringing these home anymore." he said, and walked past him to leave out the front door. Yoh watched him leave for a moment before scratching the back of his neck uncomfortably. " Hey," he said, and Hao turned. " Do you want to. . .hang out for a while? I mean. . .Anna's up there with her friends, and I'm bored."

Hao watched him for a moment before smiling.

" Alright." he said. " I guess I have some time to spare."

" Okay." Yoh said, grinning, walking into the kitchen. Hao followed him, a frown on his face. This scene looked extremely familiar. But where had they experienced this before? Yoh pulled out two peaches from the fridge and made his way out to the garden outside, Hao still following in his footsteps. They sat on the grass in silence, the peaches still in Yoh's hand, gazing up at the stars calmly.

" Can I have one?" Hao asked.

" Ah?" Yoh asked, gazing up at the stars in confusion, before noticing where Hao was looking. " Oh! The peach! Oh! Ah. . .yeah, here. Take it."

" Thanks."

Silence once more.

" It's a beautiful night." Yoh said quietly.

" Yeah, it is."

Silence for the third time.

" Don't you wish you were out here with Anna instead of me?" Hao asked.

" Yeah, I guess. But you're good company too."

Silence for the fourth time.

" Hao." Yoh said sullenly, and Hao turned to face him, a questioning look on his face. " Why do you seem so fake all of a sudden?" he asked, and the smile faltered from Hao's face. " Everything you seem to do is like an act. . .and it makes me feel unnatural around you."

" You aren't supposed to be around me in the first place." Hao said jokingly. " I'm the man who wants to steal away your fiancee, don't you remember?"

" We both know that you'd never do that, my dear brother." Yoh said.

Hao looked amused. " And what makes you say that?"

Yoh turned to him.

" It's a sixth sense, if you will." he said quietly.

" I'm intrigued about your confidence." Hao said. " And baffled by your stupidity."

" Funny how those two coincide, right?"

" Or how they combine and become one."

" And what if they were one from the first place and slowly drifted apart?"

" That would depend on the situation and viewpoint." Hao said, taking a bite into the peach. " Mm. It's really sweet. I like it."

" Thank you. Anna bought them from the market."

" Anna? The market? Really?"

" Yeah. . .she decided she should start doing stuff around the house just recently."

" Is that right?" Hao said, a small smile curving upon his face, and Yoh smiled at him. " You become really happy when we speak about Anna." he whispered.

" Do you hate me for that?" Hao asked.

" Not at all." Yoh said. " It makes you seem more human."

" Oh? Did I seem like a robot before?"

" Not so much as a robot. . .more of a clown."

" Thank you." Hao said witheringly.

" I didn't mean it in the way you think of it," Yoh said hastily. " I mean. . .a clown always puts on a mask before he shows up in an act. And. . .he could be tortured by the ringmaster, he could be having family problems, and yet every night he has to go onstage to humor folks who seek nothing but a good show from him. Who knows if a clown. . .cries behind the mask he wears?"

Hao fell silent.

" I didn't think you would think that of me." he said sullenly.

" You never did seem happy when you were around us."

" I'm not as fortunate as you, Yoh. I hope you realize that."

" And how so?"

" You have friends." Hao said, his voice very quiet now. " You have parents that care about you."

" They're your parents too."

" They don't give a shit about me if I died."

Yoh fell silent.

" You have a house with people who care about you inside. You have a woman by your side."

" You have **women** by your side."

" I don't love them!" Hao exclaimed, and for once Yoh heard fear inside his voice; something that had not existed for years long.

Was this the true facade of Hao Asakura? Could it be that below all that cockiness and pride was just this afraid little child?

" I don't love anybody! I don't care when my companions die! Did I shed a tear when a girl committed suicide because I didn't love her back? No! I just laughed! I laughed! When I break a girl's heart, I feel nothing! I don't care if they died, I don't care if they wanted to lose their virginities to a man who loved them back! I DON'T CARE ABOUT ANYONE! The only person I actually cared about and loved and wanted to spend the rest of my life with WAS STOLEN AWAY BY MY BROTHER!" he screamed, burying his face in his hands.

And for once, tears fell from his eyes.

Yoh just stared at his brother for a moment before biting into the peach in his hands.

" I'm not so fair off either." he said.

Hao looked up from his hands but still did not look at Yoh, his eyes were practically boring holes into the peach that was in his hands. " So you're saying that you have a worse off life than me?" he asked him venomously, almost daring him to agree. " Oh no, Heaven Forbid." Yoh said, chuckling. " I don't deny that your life is depressing. . .but I can't tell you with confidence that my life is sprinkled heavens either."

" Oh yeah?" Hao said baldly, biting into his peach. " How so?"

Yoh remained silent for a moment before speaking, " When you see this beautiful woman end up with a totally regular young boy who never excelled in anything at all. . .what would you think?"

Hao's eyes widened.

At that moment, Anna appeared behind them, opening her mouth to call out to Yoh.

" I think that's exactly what every person in school thinks of me and Anna." Yoh said softly, and Anna's opened mouth shut quietly. " There are so many times when guys gives me glares and whispers like, 'He's not worthy of her', or ' He doesn't know how lucky he is' They could not be more wrong. There's not one day that goes past without me thanking the heavens that I have a fiancee so beautiful, so wonderful, so. . .altogether perfect."

Anna felt her face redden.

" Yoh. . ." Hao said quietly.

" You know that me and Anna already made love?" Yoh said.

Hao looked up at the skies.

" Yeah, I do."

" You know what I did that night?" Yoh said. Hao said nothing. " I woke up at around five in the morning. She was still asleep, and she had snuggled up to me in her sleep. I started to cry. I started to cry my heart out because I could not believe someone like her would actually want and love me back. I failed her in everything, I never succeeded in anything she wanted me to do. . .and yet after so many failed attempts she still came back to me."

Hao's expression softened.

" When I run those miles for Anna. . .the only thing that cheers me up when I reach the finish line is that no matter how long I take. . .she would always be at the end waiting for me."

A lone tear fell from Anna's eye, and she wiped it away hastily.

Something crossed Hao's expression as he watched his brother before nodding his head, taking a gnaw out of the peach in hand. " Everything will work out." he said. " That's your motto, isn't it?"

Yoh smiled at him gratefully.

" Yeah." he said. " I guess it will."

Anna took one last glance at the two of them before turning her heel and made her way back into the house.

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Night fell.

It took less than seconds for the house to be totally filled with people of all ages; friends, family, teachers, principals, enemies, school janitors. . .everyone was there. Ren, Horo Horo and the others arrived before any of the others, and it was only as the house filled with unknowing witnesses when they spotted Hao Asakura standing next to Yoh solemnly, a glass of punch in his hands. Ren's eyes widened, Horo gasped, Lyserg almost screamed and Ryu pointed a finger at Hao's face, in which he just stared back at it calmly. " YOU!" Ryu stated.

" Me." Hao said grimly. " Do you like the punch? I paid for it."

" The punch?" Ren said, an eyebrow raising in a synchronized notion with the top of his hair. " The punch? You did all that bullshit to Yoh and you paid for the punch? You want the punch, you made the punch, you even bought the damn punch, I'll give you a punch!"

" Oh, that's wonderful." Hao said sarcastically. " You've practically made an entire nursery rhyme all by yourself. You should feel proud."

" Haha." Ren said wirily. " You're a real comic. Real funny."

" Thank you." Hao said with a mock bow. " I think you are amusing too."

" Asshole. . ." Horo Horo said, his ice cannons appearing by his sides.

" Do not harm him." Yoh said coldly; in a voice so cold that the others stopped in their actions. " It was he who offended me and if I can find it within myself to forgive him, I don't see why all of you can't."

" That's because you're too damn forgiving." Ren snarled.

" I will not say this twice." Yoh said, his voice practically tinged with ice. " Do. Not. Harm. Him."

There was a very awkward pause that passed until Horo slowly put down his ice cannons, his eyes never leaving Hao's. And Hao simply looked back coldly. Horo blinked.

" I'm going to have sex with a complete stranger, I'll see you buddies later." Hao said calmly, stepping past Yoh, and disappeared through the crowd.

" That's a bastard and I know it." Ryu growled.

" Not just that. . ." Horo said, frowning. " Is it just me, or does Hao's eyes suddenly seem so cold, weary and tired? The old Hao would at least have bothered to cover that up."

Manta, who was standing not too far away raised his eyebrows over the top of his glass.

" Is that right?" he asked himself incredulously.

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" I'm not doing this."

" Yes you are."

" Why should I?"

" Because that's just what you have to do." Tao Jun said firmly, clapping Anna on the shoulders. Anna sighed, chewing on the bottom of her lip anxiously. " Oh, I don't know. . ." she muttered. Tao Jun glared at her so ferociously that Anna took a step back in alarm. " You have to do this, Anna." she said to her. " It's not just women who need recognition from their lover that they love them. Men have needs and insecurities too. Trust me. Just this once. When it comes to love advice, am I ever wrong?"

Anna paused for a moment before sighing in defeat.

" Fine." she said, and Tao Jun let out a cry of joy. " But if this doesn't work. . ."

" I'll let you slap me as many times as you want." Jun said.

" And if it does. . .?"

Tao Jun winked at her.

" Promise me you'll give him the shagging of a lifetime."

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Hao sat by the porch, looking lazily at the guests who started to swarm through the house. He was about to fall asleep when suddenly a familiar pair of feet approached him. He opened a sleepy eye, and he jumped to his feet as he realized who the person before him way. " Ejio!" he gasped, gawking at the young boy before him. " What are you doing here? Where's Sumiko?"

" I think we'd better have a chat." Ejio said emotionlessly, his hands in his pockets, stepping past him to enter the house. " Please meet me inside a room where nobody would enter to disturb us."

Hao blinked.

" Yeah, Anna's." he said flatly. As far as he knew, nobody in their right minds would dare to barge into that frightful young lady's room. " You haven't answered my question yet. Where is Sumiko?"

" I will answer anything you want to ask me when we reach Anna's room." he said coldly, disappearing through the crowd. Hao raised his eyebrows, following the young boy up the stairs. " Hey, wait a minute. . ." he said as Ejio reached her room, waited until he had entered too before shutting the door. " How did you know where her room was?"

" I met her before." Ejio said grimly, before turning his attention to the poster of Boblove with raised eyebrows. " Is this man a clown?" he asked.

" No idea. Could be." Hao said, shrugging. " Now, answer me."

Ejio sat down to the floor, reaching into his pocket and pulled out a small mountain of toothpicks. Hao rolled his eyes, but Ejio ignored him, calmly stacking the first layer. " Now you may ask me anything you wish." he said.

" Hmm, that's a toughie." Hao said sarcastically. " Let me think. . .I might need more than a week to make up my mind. . .let's say. . .oh, I've got it. . .hmm. . .I don't know. . .I'm not sure. . .let's say. . .WHERE IS SUMIKO?"

" I have not seen her ever since we reached Kino's place." he said calmly, on the second layer within seconds. " She locked herself up in her room from the start."

" How can you speak in such an offhand voice?" Hao said, his eyes bulging. " She's your sister!"

" It's not like I'm her father or something." Ejio said coldly. " And it's not my fault that you broke her heart. If you returned her love, this would never have happened in the first place."

" I didn't know I loved her!" Hao yelled at him, then stopped.

Ejio was in a mid-movement to place the fifth layer and stopped, looking up to meet Hao's eyes. " You. . .love her now?" he asked him.

Hao blinked.

Did he **love** her?

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Rain was pouring down in buckets; a lone woman made her way towards the Asakura house, a letter clamped tightly in her hands. She half-expected herself to knock, but at the moment it did not seem necessarily. Almost every inch of the house was filled with people of all ages, and there were all chattering excitedly and having a good time. She blinked, and walked over to a young man in a white cloak with a beautiful woman in a nurse costume beside him.

" Excuse me," she said flatly, and Faust turned around. " May I know where Anna Kyoyuma is?"

" Anna?" Faust asked, scratching the back of his head. " I don't know. . ." he said, turning to the woman. She shook her head and he turned to Sumiko. " We don't know." he said kindly. " Would you like me to call her fiancee over for you?"

" Yes please." Sumiko said.

" Yoh!" Faust called out. " Yoh! Someone's here looking for you!"

A young man walked over, a cheerful smile on his face. Sumiko's eyes widened. " Asakura?" she gasped. He raised his eyebrows at her and grinned brightly. " Yakumo! What are you doing here?"

" I. . .erm. . ." she said, embarrassed. " I came to see. . ." she blinked, bewildered, turning around to face Faust. " What did you just call him?"

" Yoh." Faust said. " He's Hao's twin brother."

Anna's eyes widened. " That can't be right. . ." she whispered. " Kino never told me that Yoh had a twin brother. . .all she said was that. . ." At that moment she stopped. Kino had been using her all along. She had expected Sumiko to speak to Hao one last time before leaving. Why did she want Sumiko to be shot down, she did not know. But all she knew now was how stupid and foolish she was being.

" _Sumiko!" she could still see Hao's hurt and desperate face. " Don't leave!"_

" Where's Hao Asakura?" she asked.

" I don't know." Yoh said, shrugging his shoulders. " All I know is that Anna went towards her room. . .we'll visit her first, and I'll bring you to meet my brother, alright?"

" Yes. Thank you." Sumiko said, following him in his footsteps.

Technically. . .she still had not confessed to Hao once more. She guessed she was entitled to one more chance, wasn't she?

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" I think I do."

There was total silence that followed Hao's sentence, and Ejio paused in the movement of putting a toothpick onto another for just a mere second, before actually placing it upon the other. " You are in love with Sumiko?" he asked Hao quietly. Hao paused for a moment, looking down at his feet. Hots, wet tears were spilling down his face. Ejio turned around to face him, his face still impassive. " Why are you crying?" he asked him emotionlessly. Hao wiped his tears away hastily, and Ejio frowned. " Is it because you're ashamed for admitting you love someone like my sister?"

" No!" Hao yelled. " It's not that, it's just. . ."

" It's just. . ." Ejio stacked the ninth layer. " . . .What?"

Hao looked away. " I can't explain this feeling, it's nothing like what I felt for Anna. It's just. . ."

Ejio stacked the tenth layer calmly.

" Unexpected." Ejio said.

" Yeah." Hao said.

" So you're wondering if you're just in love with her because she was the girl you first fell in love with? The girl in the rain?" Ejio said plainly, snapping a loose toothpick into two calmly. " And you're thinking it's highly possible you would never have fallen for her if it were not for you remembering such an incident?"

Hao, for once, felt embarrassed.

" Yeah." he said.

Ejio sighed.

" Dumb idiot." he said. " Do you think you would have fallen for Anna if she didn't slap you? She hurt your pride, and that caused you to fall in love with her."

Hao's eyes widened.

" How did you. . .?"

" I am a medium." Ejio said flatly. " I can tell when anything. . ." Suddenly, a small mental image flashed through his head; someone was approaching this room. The thirteenth layer feel stead before he kicked it, the pile toppling to the ground. " . . .Happens." he finished, getting to his feet abruptly. " Hey, where are you going?" asked Hao loudly. " I'm not done talking to you!"

" Well, I have to go somewhere." Ejio said flatly. " Wait for me right here, I'll be back. I shan't be long."

" You better not take your time." Hao said nastily.

Ejio answered that with a slam of the door.

" He's a mighty rude one." he muttered, sighing as he heard Hao curse loudly from inside. He took three quick strides forward, and almost bumped into the girl who he had not met for over ten years. She glared at him irritably, making motion to step past when she stopped, gaped, and turned back to look at him. " Ejio-san?" she said. " What on earth are you doing here? Aren't you still in Cuba?"

" It's a long story, I'll explain it later." he said.

" If you're here, then where's Sumiko-san?" she asked him, peering behind her to get a hopeful glance of the missing person. " She's not here." Ejio said. " Caught up with some businesses, I believe."

" Oh." Anna muttered. " Right. Say hello to her for me. Is she still always eating those damn lemons?"

" Afraid so." Ejio said sullenly and Anna's lips twitched. " That's just like her." she said quietly. " But enough about that, you still haven't answered me yet. What are you doing at a party? I thought you hated loud noises."

" I do." Ejio said. " In fact, I think I'd best be off. I have a lot of things ahead to do."

" Oh." Anna said. " Well, it was good to see you again."

" You too." Ejio said, bowing slightly. It was at that moment when another flash entered his mind; in the far distance, two more people were already making their way up here. Another jolt entered his mind, and a young lady with green hair flashed before his eyes; her words, her smirk, her smile. . .and Anna's affronted face. Ejio rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Slowly and surely, a small plan within his head slowly started to take action. " By the way, I met your fiancee." he said to her. " Yoh Asakura, isn't he?"

" Oh, you have?" Anna said hopefully. " Where? I'm looking for him."

_I know._

" He's in your room." Ejio said flatly. " Apparently he was very tired, so he decided to take a nap in there."

" Typical." she said, rolling her eyes. " Did he put on those damn earphones again?"

" Not this time." he replied. " But he untied his hair. He looks like a girl now."

" I'll bet." Anna said. Then her eyebrows raised. " Where's Hao Asakura?"

" I have some businesses with him." Ejio said firmly. " In fact, I think I'd better meet him right now. . ."

Anna nodded. " Alright." she said, before flushing. " By the way, Ejio. . ." she said. " I was hoping that you could. . ." she started, which was met with his expressionless face. She sighed. " . . .help me make sure that nobody came up to this level. I wanted to. . .talk. . .to him without any interruptions."

" I will do my best." he said, bowing lightly.

She gave him a small smile before walking off. At that moment, a small and almost invisible smile slid upon Ejio's face. " Thirty seconds ought to do it." he muttered. " Just thirty seconds should do the trick." It was as he was down the steps when Sumiko and Yoh appeared before him.

" Where is Anna Kyoyuma?" Sumiko asked him.

He pointed upwards. " She went upstairs to her room."

" Thank you." Yoh said to him cheerfully as Sumiko took off up the stairs without a word. Ejio sighed and walked onwards until he reached the area where Kino stood, grinning up at him hopefully. " It's done." he said, and Kino let out a small cry of success.

" " That letter trick was so fake. I know what's inside it; it's merely a bill that we threw out in the trash." Yohmei, who was beside her, said reproachfully. " I hope you know what you're doing."

" Oh, yes, I do." Kino replied. " It's not only Hao who knows how to use the laws of jealousy."

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Anna took in a deep breath as she stood before the door of her room, her fingers rubbing against her chin. " Damn you, Tao Jun." she muttered, before pulling the sliding door open, and a sleeping Hao came into her vision. She rolled her eyes and took a step forward. " I swear, you're looking more and more like your brother every day." she said. He did not reply. She took yet another step towards him and sat down next to his sleeping figure. She let out a small chuckle. " Wow, this is giving me a sense of deja vu." she muttered. " It's just at that time, you were mad at me. I certainly hope you aren't upset at me again." She lifted a hand and grazed it against his cheek.

Slowly, Hao stirred.

" Look," she said. " I know there's a difference in the passion between you and me, but. . .I just wanted to tell you that I love you as much as you do to me. And. . .I feel the same way as you." Her fingers stroked delicately in his hair, and she let out a small jump as he sat upright, his hair falling over his face. She smiled slightly. " I guess you're awake now." she said. " Did you hear what I said before?"

" Yeah." he let out a small mumble, turning to face her, but before he had a chance to speak, her lips pressed firmly against his. He gasped into her mouth but she ignored that, a small smile curving upon her face, her hands reaching down to his belt buckle, earning a moan from him. " You like that, don't you?" she whispered, her lips leaving his to press butterfly trails upon his neck.

" Anna, what the Hell. . ." he moaned.

" Shh. . ." she muttered. " Just don't speak."

It was at that moment when the door slid open, and there stood Yoh and Sumiko, a smile on Yoh's, and a dull look on Sumiko's. But when the scene came before them, looks of shock replaced them. Anna looked up irritably. " Ejio, I thought I told you to. . ." she started, while stopping in mid-speech. Her eyes gazed into Yoh's, which stared back at her with a look of affrontation. " Yoh?" she asked incredulously. " Then this person. . ." She looked at Hao before clasping her hands over her lips. " Oh my God." she whispered.

" Anna. . ." Hao said, but his eyes immediately turned to Sumiko, who was staring at him in unflattering shock.

" Hao." Yoh muttered, gritting his teeth, his hands clenching up into balls, Amidamaru appearing by his side. Hao took a step back. " Yoh, you don't understand!" Hao said. " HAO!" Yoh yelled, taking a lunge forward, slamming his fist into Hao's jaw, causing him to fall backwards.

" Yoh! Stop it!" Anna cried, turning to Hao, almost warning him not to hurt Yoh back. But it was unnecessarily. His eyes were shut, his hands limp on their sides, simply accepting the blows that Yoh laid on him. She gritted her teeth before muttering, " Off." It was within seconds when an invisible whip lunged at Yoh, toppling him to his feet. He glared up at Anna, who chewed on her bottom lip. " Yoh. . ."

" Don't even say my name." Yoh growled, getting to his feet. " Just act like I didn't even barge in."

" Yoh! It's not what you think it is! Hao, say something!"

But Hao was looking right into Sumiko's eyes, and she was looking right back. A solid, impassive moment passed between the two of them until Sumiko bowed low, and turned her heel to walk away. " Sumiko!" Hao yelled, getting to his feet and running after her. Yoh gave one last look of disgust to Anna before turning his heel and left. " Yoh!" she called out, running after him.

Below, Kino took a sip of tea happily.

She glanced at the four people running down the stairs, one after another before smiling. " It's a noisy night." she muttered. Ejio turned to her, blinking. " Yeah." he said. " It is."

00000000000000000000000000000000000

" Yoh, wait!"

" Don't come near me!" Yoh yelled, running out of the house, the scene being watched by curious passer-bys. Anna gritted her teeth, a stitch appearing by her stomach. For once in her life, she blamed herself for making Yoh run all those miles. " You should be back there snogging your boy-friend!"

" It's all a misunderstanding, Yoh!" she said. " Do you actually think for one moment that I would choose Hao over you?"

" It certainly seems like it!" Yoh yelled. " Get the Hell away from me!"

" I thought he was you, damn it!" Anna burst out.

Yoh stopped running, and at that moment they realized where they were. It was an empty grassland, totally surrounded by stars. He turned around to face her in question. " What?" he asked. She glared at him, clutching her sides. " I. . .I was looking for you. A friend of mine told me you were in my room, so naturally I thought that Hao was you. . ."

" What the Hell was Hao doing in your room?"

" You're asking me?" she said. " I thought he was you!"

He glared at her before walking off again. " You're lying. Me and Hao look so much unalike. What, you thought I suddenly liked to leave my hair flowing?"

" I trusted that friend." she said. " He never lied to me before."

" Well, that's quaint." he said sarcastically, taking another step forward before finding himself cornered against a wall. He turned around to face her once again.

" Do you still not believe me?" she said, feeling a touch of annoyance.

" Yes." he snarled. " Can you blame me? You're the one kissing my brother! Hell, your hands were on his bloody zipper!"

" Because I thought he was you!" she yelled.

" That's bullshit." he said. " You never try to make the first move. It's always me who has to coax you into it. Why did you suddenly want to make love to me, anyway?"

" That's the reason I was looking for you! I wanted to make love to you!"

" Bullshit." he said.

It was at that moment when her hand whipped across his cheek, and he staggered back. There were tears in her eyes now, and she wiped them away angrily. " Do you actually think for one second that I gave you my virginity just to end up with Hao Asakura? And wasn't it you who said to trust him? I thought he was you. He was asleep when I entered. Come to think of it, I barely gave him time to speak."

Yoh's mouth opened and shut for a moment before he hung his head.

" Oh." he said.

" Idiot." she muttered, the tears continuing to flow from his eyes.

He took three quick strides to her before wrapping his arms around her, her tears dampening his shirt. " I'm sorry I even misunderstood you." he whispered into her ear. " You better be." He pressed kisses onto the top of her head. " So let me get everything right." he said. " You thought Hao was me."

" Yes." she said tearfully.

" You do not love Hao."

" Yes."

" You love me."

" Yes."

" I love you too."

" I know."

He pulled away from her to smile down at her. She smiled back up at him as he wiped away stray tears from her eyes. Turning his heel, he stuffed his hands into his pockets. " Come on." he said. " Let's go. I'm hungry."

Yet, she did not move.

He raised his eyebrows and turned around to look at her.

" Let's go, Anna." he said.

Without warning, she jumped into his arms, her lips pressed tightly against his, wrapping her arms around his neck. He gasped, losing his balance, falling to the ground below. Not wasting another moment, she removed the constriction of his pants, and took off his boxers quickly. " Anna, not here," he said, looking around. " This is a garden, a security guard or someone could catch us any moment. . ."

" Who cares?" she whispered, a finger pressing against his lips, and his eyes widened. " I want you. Now. Please."

His widened eyes turned into a wide smile. " Okay." he said.

It was as Yoh hurriedly removed Anna of all her clothes when Tao Jun's words flashed into her mind again. It was true, what that woman said. At the moment she could not give a damn if anyone in the world caught them or not. All that mattered was that she loved him. She loved him beyond anything in the world. And nothing would change that.

" God, you're so large, Yoh." she moaned as he plunged into her.

" Yes, and I love you too." he muttered, wincing slightly.

This time, there were no insults, no talking, no communication. There was no teasing, no expressing, there was just solid plain love. And their sounds showed that to each other. " Oh my God, Yoh!" she gasped and he smiled. " Say my name louder, Anna." he whispered.

" YOH!" she screamed, and he shuddered.

" God, you turn me on so much." he muttered.

" Then. . .show it." she whispered throatily, toppling him over balance.

He let out a strangled cry as he felt himself come and she screamed against his ear, wrapping her arms firmer around him, screaming out his name, as he did hers.

" YOH!" she screamed, bucking her lips.

" ANNA!" he yelled.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Hao gritted his teeth.

" How can someone with such delicate legs run so fast?" he muttered, rubbing his chin.

" I didn't go anywhere." came a voice behind him, and he jumped a mile before whipping his head around so fast that there was a cracking sound. There Sumiko stood there, a lemon propped up in her mouth, sitting on the front few steps of the household peacefully, gazing up at the stars above. He chewed on his bottom lip, watching her for a minute. A very uncomfortable moment passed as he stood there looking down at her; with her looking up at the skies, ignoring him completely. " Can I sit down beside you?" he asked her.

" Whatever you like." she said.

He took a seat beside her.

Silence.

" Can I have one?" he asked her.

" One what?" she said.

" A lemon."

She finally turned to him with raised eyebrows. He grinned at her, shrugging. " I feel like having a lemon." he said. She gave him a skeptical look before handing on to him, in which he took it from her hands gratefully. " Thank you." he said softly. She gave him a brief nod before looking back at the skies once again. He sighed and bit the lemon between his two teeth. " So I guess you saw everything just now, didn't you?" he asked.

Silence.

" Not everything." she said.

Behind them, they could hear Ryu laughing falsely high at something Tao Jun had said, and behind him Pai Long and Ren were approaching him with clenched fists, Ren's grandfather already loading bullets into his gun. " Look, can we go somewhere more peaceful?" he said to her. " It's a little noisy here."

" You can go." she replied. " I like it here."

He blinked.

" I like it if you like it." he said, leaning on the palms of his hands.

She was looking at him incredulously now, but didn't say anything.

" I was resting in her room because Ejio asked me to wait in there for him." Hao said plainly. " Suddenly Anna came in and started kissing me for a reason I didn't know why at that moment. That was when you and Yoh came in, and I realized that she mistook Yoh for me."

Her mouth opened, before shutting quietly.

He turned to face her.

" Why are you telling me this?" she asked him bluntly.

He smiled.

" Because I don't want you to misunderstand."

" What would it matter if I misunderstood or not?" she enquired. " Anna's a beautiful girl. You should be honored to be found making out with her alone in her room."

" We weren't making out." he said quickly.

" My apologies." she said, giving a slight bow.

Silence.

Hao found himself somewhat outnumbered, and there was only the two of them on the front porch. She was unlike any girl he had ever met before; she was so rude and abashed but yet at the same time so tranquil and innocent. With any other girl a single line from him could send them into a line of long giggles, but she was different. With her, he could not use any more lines, any more jokes. . .

He could only be himself.

" Sumiko. . ." he said silently, and she turned to him.

" Yes?" she answered.

He chewed on his bottom lip; Sumiko waited patiently.

" I was wondering. . .if. . .you. . .were free tomorrow?"

She blinked.

" Tomorrow?" she asked.

" Tomorrow." he said. " There's this japanese restaurant I've been dying to try out."

She almost rolled her eyes. " Is it a sushi restaurant?"

" Yes." he said, grinning broadly. " How did you guess?"

" Just a hutch." he said, shrugging.

She gave him a small smile, which caused his heart to beat faster than ever before. " I want to go look for my brother," she said, getting to her feet. " I want to question him about something. . ."

" I. . ." he started, but she was already to her feet, and was walking away.

Gritting his teeth, he gripped her arm forcefully, which caused her to lose her balance, and she fell backwards; landing gently in Hao's arms.

She froze by his touch, her eyes staring, confused, back into his.

" I LOVE ANNA KYOYUMA!" came Yoh's loud voice behind them, his arm wrapped around her waist, cheers and wolf whistles ringing throughout the entire house at his words. Anna, blushing furiously, slapped him across the cheek, earning laughs from the crowd.

" Asakura, can you let go of me?" Sumiko asked.

" I always knew you had in within you!" came Ryu's cheerful voice.

Hao's grip on her tightened, and she blinked.

" No." he whispered.

" I think a song should come to order?" said Faust lightly, claps following.

" Whose birthday is it?" Yoh asked, confused, and others started to laugh.

" No?" Sumiko asked.

He lowered his head towards her, until they were barely noses apart. " No." he whispered, and pressed his lips against hers. For a minute there it seemed like she was going to kiss him back when she pushed him away, her face still impassive. " Asakura, don't do this." she said.

" Why not?" he asked, frustrated.

" I'm not a toy." she answered. " Will you let me go?"

" No." he said, for the third time running. " You're not a toy. You're not someone I want to use to cure my sorrows for Anna. I love you, Sumiko."

Her eyes fluttered for a moment there before it dimmed once again.

" You're just saying that because you found out I was the girl in the rain."

" No I'm not!" he said. " I really love you!"

" Now you're just sounding foolish." she said, struggling to pull away from him, but his grasp on her never ceased to break away. " I know you, Hao Asakura. You don't love me at all."

" I do!" he snapped, frustrated. " Why are you acting so stubborn? Don't you love me back?"

" So you were banking on my love for you? You hoped I would just kiss you back and let you make love to you right here on this front porch?"

" No I wasn't!"

" That's a surprise." she said acidly. Her eyes bore anger, hate and contempt. " I thought Hao Asakura would screw any girl who looked vaguely attractive."

" That's not what I want from you!" he said. " I. . ."

" Spare me." she snapped. " I'm not in the mood for made-up pick-up lines."

" I'm not going to. . ."

But she had wrenched herself out of his grasp and stomped away.

He opened his mouth to speak, but shut it again. It was until she was further away from him when he hung his head. " It's because. . .I've decided to stop running away." he said silently, and she stopped. " Throughout my life I've been going through a crisis within myself. What I am, what I'm doing, where I'm going. I couldn't answer any of the questions, because I feared myself beyond anything inside my life. When I saw Anna Kyoyuma I thought she would be able to answer that. But when you came. . .it was like you had patched up a hole within me."

She turned, her eyes full of question.

" I love you, Sumiko." he said, almost pleadingly. " Please believe me."

" I love you, I love you, I love you!" Yoh sang with the crowd, claps and cheers ringing throughout the house. Anna had buried her face in her hands, either in shame or to conceal the smile dawning upon her face.

" The only reason why I shot you down in the first place," he said, hanging his head, his eyes spilling with tears. " Was because I was waiting on for that special person. But now I know that that was you all along."

_Anna's smile._

_Sumiko's smile._

_Anna's furious slap._

_Sumiko's sweet lemon-biting habits._

_The lemon._

_The sour taste._

_The sour taste._

_The sour taste._

_The yet again sour taste._

_But the everlasting sweet center._

A hand had gently wiped his tears away, and Hao's eyes widened, looking up. There stood Sumiko before him, a bright smile on her face. " Crying is for girls and wimps only." she whispered. His eyes widened before smiling back at her. " I'm sorry." he whispered. They just stared at each other for a moment before Hao wrapped his arms against hers, his lips pressed against hers. She whimpered against his touch, but kissed him back with equal feavour, and when his lips finally left hers, he pressed tender kisses against her soft neck.

" I love you." he breathed. " I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you."

" Isn't that your brother's song?" she said, her lips twitching.

" God, but I do." he said, nibbling slightly on her neck, earning a moan from her. She lifted up his chin to face her, and she grinned. " I love you too." she said, and his heart leapt.

" How shall we celebrate?" he muttered.

" You could bring me to that stupid sushi restaurant tomorrow." she purred into his ear.

" Finally." he said, kissing her cheek, and she giggled. He smiled. " I never heard you laugh before." he said. " Have you ever laughed before?"

" Once." she said, turning her heel. " It was with a man I used to love."

" Who's that?" he asked.

She turned around, smiling.

" I don't think that has anything to do with you, doesn't it?"

He blinked before grinning back.

" No." he said. " I guess it doesn't."

Behind them, Ejio and Kino high-fived.

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" Please remind me why we're here again, Yoh." Ren said shrewdly.

" I'm still tired from yesterday." Horo Horo yawned.

" What ii this all about, anyway?" Faust asked politely.

" Why are we here?" Manta questioned.

" What? Say hi to a deer?" Chocolove said.

" Can't we do this in the afternoon?" Ryu asked.

" Or possibly never?" Lyserg said angrily. " Why is Hao here?"

Anna quelled all of them with an angry glare before taking a sip of the coffee before her. Everyone was sitting in the coffeehouse at their regular table in the same sitting position as they were when Hao made his previous confession. Yoh gave them all a sheepish grin before resting his chin on his palms. " It was Anna who asked me to call all of you out here." he said to them, and they fell silent. Anna stepped in the middle and dropped Yoh's book on the table with a loud thud, making everyone jump. Hao gave a yawn.

She ignored him.

" You wanted to read us a book?" Ren said with raised eyebrows.

" No." she said. " This is the book that is going to give us all the answers we need about Hao's behavior."

" What, you mean Hao has split-personalities?" Yoh said jokingly.

" That's exactly it, Yoh." she said, and the others stopped laughing. Hao opened a shut eye to look at her. " I borrowed Shamash to look through every scene throughout the last few weeks and I could only come to this conclusion. That would explain why he asked Yoro to teach this story to us anyway."

" Yoro taught us a book just for Hao?" Chocolove said incredulously.

" Yes." Anna said impatiently. " I'm sure all of us has seen the light of Hao's Mr Hyde side. . .and now's the time to see the light of Dr Jekyll. I was wondering why he had made Yoh fail Seika's class. Come to think of it, a lot of classes that we took together ended up miserably. Because. . .because Yoh could not stop staring at me." Anna said quickly, a blush appearing on her cheeks. " Hao made Yoh drop one class just to stop him from being in one class as me. He changed Yoh's failing garde in Maths for him. He made me and Yoh quarrel before another class we took together just so we would sit apart from each other."

" That doesn't prove anything. . ." Ren said loudly.

" Hao used the art of jealousy a lot." she said. " The first one was when he brought Yoh to the nightclub and got him a girl's number. He was banking on my jealousy to confront Yoh; in which we would soon make up. But that would make a hole in our relationship. He's a double-sided agent. That's what I thought of. But Yohmei told me something about him that I think Hao heard too."

Hao's lips curved up into a smile.

" Hao is like the river water. He flows where the current goes. He's at nobody's side, he can be helping you at one moment, and then backstabbing you at another." Anna said. " Another good example is Hao's. . .perverted. . .voodoo. . .trick." she said, now glaring at Yoh venomously, who looked away, blushing. " He didn't want to slip it to me because he was afraid of me falling for Yoh too easily, but later on asked Opacho to give it to Yoh."

" But it contained a drug. . ." Ryu argued.

" It only contained a drug because I removed it wrongly from my body." Anna interrupted. " What Hao told you at the coffeehouse was utter rubbish. I doubt someone would be able to think that far, even if it was Hao Asakura."

Hao bowed, a light grin on his face.

" When he made Ren seduce me, it was to make Yoh jealous. That was a second form of jealousy that Hao concealed within his many ploys."

" That could be merely coincidental." Lyserg argued. " I still don't see how Hao Asakura could be on our side."

" There was this scene when I caught Hao making out with a girl in an empty classroom." she continued, ignoring him. " Hao did so to give me a drug to read Yoh's mind. . ." Yoh let out a startled gasp at this. " He did it for two reasons. One, was for me to find out. . .how. . .perverted. . .Yoh. . .actually. . .was. . ." she said every word like injecting venom through words, and Yoh looked away, blushing. " But on the other hand, it was for me to find out about Yoh's birthday, and to hear about his. . .love for me." she said, her face turning crimson.

Horo turned to Hao, blinking.

" Horo Horo got caught for peeking at the girls showering." Hao said, grinning at the blue-haired boy, taking over from Anna's monologue. " I disappeared from view to not only escape from being impulverised, but to also give Anna and Horo a moment alone to speak. I mind-controlled Horo to compliment her, allow Yoh to see the two of them speaking together. That was no other form of jealousy I used. That's what you found out, wasn't it, Anna?"

" Yes." Anna said steadily. " He tricked me soon after that, too. He asked Yoh to totally ignore me throughout the day after his birthday, which made me. . ." she glanced at Yoh before continuing. " . . .jealous. That was a trick that Hao was fond of using."

" And for a good reason too." Hao said lightly.

" But he's not totally heartless, actually. He knew I would never forgive Yoh at this rate, so he brought a friend of his to try to pick me up so I could just insult him and painfully shoot him down. That made me feel somewhat better." Slightly unwillingly, she gave a swift nod in Hao's direction. He smiled.

" Is that it?" Horo asked. " The argument is pretty thin."

" I have to admit, it is." Anna said. " But there's one point that none of you can deny."

" And what is that?" Ren asked.

" All he wants to be is a good brother." Anna whispered.

There was total silence that followed that.

" When Ren confronted him in the library, he did not get angry when Ren insulted him. He did not get mad when he accused him of trying to take me away. But he got angry when Ren insulted his role as a brother."

Ren blinked.

" The second time when Ren confronted him, Hao was merely toying with him when Ren battled against him. But he hit him with full force when Ren again insulted his role as a brother. Another moment was when the teacher insulted Hao, and said he would not have cried even if his own mother died. Not the same case as the two above, but it still shows he cares for his family members."

Yoh turned to Hao, who was looking back at him.

Yoh smiled.

Hao smiled back.

" Are you guys. . .ready to order now?" came the waitress's voice.

Everyone was staring at Hao in a different light now. Somehow he did not seem so evil and mean. He seemed just like a brother looking out for his sibling. " Yes." Ren said, turning to her. " Give my friend over there a café latte." he said, his eyes never leaving Hao's. Hao blinked.

" No, it's alright. . ." he said.

" No." Ren said, smiling slightly. " It's on me."

Hao blinked.

" Thanks." he said.

" No problem." Ren said, nodding.

Anna and Yoh sneaked a grin at each other.

" Why did you act like you were our enemy if you were on our side all along?" Manta asked Hao curiously. Hao grinned at him. " It's the same thing as the times when we were all fighting for the Shaman King crown. We all wanted it in our own different ways. Some follow the towering rules of the Shaman fight to claim their victory. Many others, however, such as myself, use twisted ways to get to the thing we want. But in the end, we're all after the same thing. To make the things around us better, and to gain what we want. There is no such thing as a bad guy, or a good guy. It's just how you see them and in which light you view them in, that's all."

The others stayed speechless until Ryu clapped him cheerfully on his shoulder.

" Welcome back, you girly-looking freak." he said.

Hao grinned back.

It was at this moment when Hao and Anna's eyes met.

" I see you're not running away again." she said, her lips twitching.

He grinned, a hot cup of latte being placed in his hands by a nearby waitress. He picked it up and gave it a little sip. " There's no use in running a race after you cross the finish line." he said.

" Well said." Manta said cheerfully.

Away from the table, a group of waiters and waitresses smiled at the sight fondly. " It's so nice to see them all friends once again." a waitress said dreamily.

" Yes." another said, smiling. " And something tells me that none of them are planning on going anywhere. Not anywhere except around each other for the time being."

**EPILOGUE (6 Months Later)**

Kino stood before the closet once more, smiling at it fondly. " The last feather is gone." she muttered. " My work here is accomplished."

" My dear!" came Yohmei's voice from the doorway, and she peered out to look at him. " Here's a wedding invitation to Ren Tao and Pirika's wedding! Those two are finally getting hitched!"

" Oh, is that so?" Kino said, a light twinkle in her eyes. " That's sweet."

Kino peered into the closet, raising his eyebrows at it before smiling at her.

" The last feather of Anna's heart has finally disappeared, hasn't it?" he asked her.

" Yes." she said.

" Sumiko and Hao are planning on going on a vacation together, by the way." Yohmei told her pointedly. " He told me that he wanted to bring he to the place where he was first born."

" Oh, that's sweet." Kino muttered. " And Ejio allowed her to go?"

" Yeah." he said, his lips twitching. " Amazing, I know."

She nodded to herself before turning her heel to walk out, when she noticed a light-feathered bird float past her and disappear out of sight. She raised her eyebrows at it before turning to Yohmei in question. " It's for Hao Asakura." he said sheepishly. " I copied your idea with feathers. . .but birds seemed much more magnificent."

" How original." Kino muttered, stepping out the room. " Get dressed. Yoh and Anna invited us to dinner."

" Be right with you." Yoh mei called out.

He stopped after she disappeared into view before turning back to the remaining birds, all floating ghostly behind him. He let out a small smile. " Silly woman." he muttered, his lips twitching. " Those birds aren't for Hao. . ." he shut the door silently behind him.

" They're for you."

END CHAPTER 25 (FINALE)

Well, this story is finally done! The start, the end. . .everything is finally finished. Please sign my guestbook and give a final vote in my polls on my website. Thank you, I would like it very much. I might have some one-shot sequels or prequels to this story, but I believe this will be the finale. This story is done. It is finished. It is completed. Thanks to every reader who reviewed this story, I appreciate every single one from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for supporting 'A Girl Called Anna'. Thank you for your time, your reviews. . .but most importantly you love for the story. I could not have done it without every single one of you. This is the end. Please read and review.

**ReViEwEr Shrine** (Arranged in order from the first reviewer of Chapter 1)

BlackIcyRoses My First reviewer, pendulumxswing, azimataiji, YohandAnna4ever, tone, hannah-asakura, King of Chaos, blackyuki, skf, sakura-light-angel, Anna, Anni, Jojo-Kyoyama, Lushi, Peacemaker, Orphen27, hannami08, Kay, rumia, mysterious, Apple-rin, Tochigo, ShadowFia, Mrs Asakura Hao, Kirsten, FionnaKreuz, Exploded Toilet Bowl, racer, catesy, darkmidnightsky, ANNA KYOUYAMA A, Anna, Anna The Ice Queen Itako, merissala, Galatria57, HaNaGuMi, superskittles123, xxmoonlight-angelxx, LittLetriXta, YohandAnna4ever, Baby Kaoru Sama, Sakura Hanamoto, YumeTakato, merissala, Mrs Asakura Hao, Frank S, I LUV Anime 0.0, KrayZi, Furu Rawr, Mikauzoran, SpIkYtrIaNgLeS, cherry, The Shaman King, charl, I-Smiles-U, jess, Iria, Apple, Hope Usui, KristiexxNguyen, left-alone, Galatria57, quill, bluemoon88, eva, kaoru-chan01, candee, Hao Kyouyama, Destiny13, D3m0n Slay3r, Furu Rawr, ValleyGurl369, LittLetriXta, .evanglade., Felix-samma, Harmony8390, cherryblossom, azngirlchibi, Miakoda13, Anime master Inu, kawaiisaru07, water spear 38972, plastic bag 411, graceful miko, b0bo-the-sword, GlobalDomination, Nikki09, flay, lale, Hakono, distantdreamer, devious-chan, Pink-poring10, JWM, Goodieblanker, Tochigo, xluvmonax, LittLetriXta, Soul of the Xcalibar, anime-obsession260, SophisticatedAlexir, uncle T, pheenixgirl, ShadowSpirit2, smiley's chaos, Yona57, left-alone, Lovely Red Rose, xluvmonax, kenshinfan2000, Kirashakisama, bianca s, jan-i-am, yoh x anna x hao lover, Xeno, Sexual-Itako, Lyra-san, kagome1316, dragutza, menchi, liftedshadows, megumichan13, Nikki09, LittLetriXta, GothicShamaness13, aNgeLoFdArknEssmaRie-chAn, Ireru no Miko, kkkkkitty, SophisticatedAlexir, anangelslife, Black-Trinity, j o a n n 3, Arihdni, hellfire master, dreamer, Ashley, ChIcKeNnUgGeTs009, Ryuu no Taiyo, Shadowchan, Chitori, Hoppy-Chan, GothMistress, StarlitxIcexGoddess9074, smiley's chaos, Bisuke, Warm-Ice, AMOUNGTHELEAFS, xenphRAGEum, ShAmAnGiRl, Tsukia Malleo, hao-sama-rawks, xenphRAGEum, myster93, SonnyGoten, sazzy1, nana, feathertop, Hao PERVENT FAN, vinkon, thoughtless dreamer, Kkornelia, ShadowdragonLady, Particles of Sand, EnV, smiley's chaos, SleepyPanda, gangsta, Chaoswizkid, Serena, Lady-Azura, animebookworm44, ShadowdragonLady, Yona57, SonnyGoten, Eliza, E-CLIPES, Karia Ithilai, Anica14x14, Ryuu no Taiyo, Yumenori, The Karlminion, powerslikepryde66, Brok3nRagd0ll, Bisuke, silversnow14, zack Amazing. The last review I received was for chapter 1 once again. Cool.


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